Somali man found guilty of attempted murder of Mohammed cartoonist

Somali man found guilty of attempted murder of Mohammed cartoonist

2011-02-04 01:14:38 GMT+7 (ICT)

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK (BNO NEWS) -- A Somali man on Thursday was found guilty of terrorism and attempted murder of Mohammed cartoonist, the Politiken newspaper reported.

Mohamed Geele, 29, was arrested after the attempted to murder Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard in 2010. The Somali national will be sentenced on Friday at a Copenhagen court.

On January 1, 2010, Geele broke into Westergaard's residence using an axe. The Danish cartoonist locked himself in the panic room of his house while the Somali man attempted to break down the reinforced door.

After four minutes, Geele desisted and fled the residence. However, he was detained by police officers who answered an emergency call. As he was trying to avoid arrest, Geele attacked an officer but was shot twice in his hand and knee.

The court found him guilty of terrorism, attempted murder of Westergaard, attempted murder of a policeman and attacking with an axe another policeman in a vehicle. At sentencing, Geele faces life in prison as well as deportation.

The Somali citizen denied the terrorism and attempted murder charges and admitted only the illegal entry and attempting to attack police officers charges. It is expected that Geele will appeal the court's ruling.

Cartoonist Westergaard drew a picture of the prophet Mohammed wearing a bomb-shaped turban in 2005. The carton was published by the Jyllands-Posten newspaper and angered the Muslim community

Last December, Denmark’s Security and Intelligence Service (PET) disrupted a terrorist attack against the local newspaper which published the cartoon. PET arrested five individuals suspected of preparing the attack, four in Denmark and the other in Sweden.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-02-04