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For the Paris Muhammed Cartoons: I Would Rather Die Standing Than Live Kneeling
TWELVE DEAD, MAGAZINE SILENCED IN PARIS TERRORIST ATTACK [UPDATED]
The bodies of victims are being removed from a Paris building as police conduct a major manhunt for gunmen who killed 12 at the headquarters of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. Three masked gunmen stormed the offices of the controversial publication, which has previously been attacked for its portrayal of the Prophet Mohammed. French police officials say they have identified three men as suspects and have named them. The attackers were armed with Kalashnikov rifles and a rocket-propelled grenade during the attack on Wednesday morning. Police sources have said two brothers from the Paris region and another man from Rheims have been linked to the attack.
Here are some of the Muhammed Cartoons and two links to my archive of cartoon images and commentary. Here is another link that has a more extensive treatment of the flap.
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Berlin Court Upholds Free Speech – OKS Prophet Muhammad Cartoons
The Muhammad Cartoons of Jyllands-Posten
The German court has ruled, but what will be the aftermath?
A Berlin court has rejected an emergency appeal by three mosques to prohibit a far-right group from displaying caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad at a demonstration this weekend.
The Berlin administrative court ruled Thursday the caricatures were protected by laws allowing artistic free expression and their display alone did not violate laws against slander nor those against inciting hate or violence.
Three mosques had filed the appeal after the far-right “Citizens Movement — Pro Germany” had said it would display the caricatures during its Aug. 18 demonstration in the capital, being held under the slogan “Islam does not belong in Germany — stop Islamization.”
Yet, there continue to be newspapers in the United States who continue to refuse to print the cartoons.
I wonder what the demonstration will bring on the weekend?
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Two Convicted in Norway of Terror Plot Against Jyllands-Posten Newspaper Which Published the Muhammad Cartoons
Courtroom sketch by artist Marco Vaglieri shows Mikael Davud in an Oslo court Monday Jan. 30 2012. Davud was sentenced to seven years in prison for planning to bomb the Danish newspaper Jyllandsposten that caricatured the Prophet Muhammad, the first convictions under Norway’s anti-terror laws. The Oslo district court sentenced alleged ringleader Davud, to seven years in prison and co-defendant Shawan Sadek Saeed Bujak to three and a half years.(AP Photo / Marco Vaglieri, Scanpix)
The court handed down its decision yesterday.Two men were found guilty Monday of involvement in an al-Qaida plot to attack a Danish newspaper that caricatured the Prophet Muhammad, the first convictions under Norway’s anti-terror laws.
A third defendant was acquitted of terror charges but convicted of helping the others acquire explosives.
Investigators say the plot was linked to the same al-Qaida planners behind thwarted attacks against the New York subway system and a shopping mall in Manchester, England, in 2009.
The Oslo district court sentenced alleged ringleader Mikael Davud, to seven years in prison and co-defendant Shawan Sadek Saeed Bujak to three and a half years.
Judge Oddmund Svarteberg said the court found that Davud, a Chinese Muslim, “planned the attack together with al-Qaida.” Bujak was deeply involved in the preparations, but it couldn’t be proved that he was aware of Davud’s contacts with al-Qaida, the judge said.
The third defendant, David Jakobsen, who assisted police in the investigation, was convicted on an explosives charge and sentenced to four months in prison — time he’s already served in pretrial detention.
Defense lawyers for the three told the court they would study the verdict before deciding whether to appeal.
Here is the photo of the other terrorist:
Shawan Sadek Saeed Bujak appears in the Oslo courthouse, Oslo, Norway Monday Jan. 30, 2012
And, all for what?Previous:
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Politician Wants to Know Why Kurt Westergaard Was Kicked Out of Norway Rather Than Afforded Police Protection
Danish Muhammad Cartoonist Kurt Westergaard
A very good question. You remember the story from yesterday, which I carried here.Labour (Ap) MP Arild Stokkan-Grande, wants police to clarify why they chose to send the cartoonist back to Denmark instead of offering him protection.
“The police have to explain what they really meant by doing this. What is the purpose of providing this kind of advice? The primary goal of those behind these threats is to gag people and spread fear. Police let these dark forces win when they do nothing but recommend people not to show themselves at debates and in public places,” he told VG, saying he did not necessarily share Mr Westergaard’s political views.
Upholding the value of freedom of speech, Mr Stokkan-Grande continued, “If this spreads, I’m afraid this could mean we have already lost much of our freedom by giving in to those who want to threaten us to silence. Each example of this is an attack on us all.”
So, every time Westergaard is asked to speak, receive an award or go on holiday, he will be asked to leave the country due to security concerns?
Guess the radical Islamists have won by the mere threat of terror.
Norway should re-examine its security protocols.
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Danish Muhammad Cartoonist Kurt Westergaard’s Atacker, Mohamed Geele Goes on Trial
Danish Muhammad Cartoonist Kurt Westergaard
Kurt Westergaard’s, the Danish Cartoonist made famous by his depiction of the Prophet Muhammad with a bomb on his head, attacker, Mohamed Geele, went to trial today.A 29-year-old Somali man charged with trying to kill the cartoonist behind the most controversial Danish Prophet Mohammed caricature went on trial Wednesday in the central town of Aarhus.
The man, named in court as Mohamed Geele, could face life in prison if convicted of the charges of attempted terrorism, attempted murder, attacking a police officer and illegal arms possession.
The hearing was transferred to a larger court due to the number of journalists covering the case.
On January 1 last year, the suspect broke into the home of cartoonist Kurt Westergaard — who had drawn the Prophet Mohammed with a bomb-shaped turban — wielding an axe and saying he wanted to kill him.
Westergaard, now 75, rushed into a bathroom that had been fortified and transformed into a panic room to “seek safety and call the police.”
Police shot the man twice and wounded him before placing him under arrest.
Since his arrest the Somali has denied any wrongdoing, but according to Danish intelligence police, he is believed to be close to the Shebab Islamist movement, which has declared allegiance to Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda network and controls most of southern and central Somalia.
The trial is set to last nine days and the verdict is expected in the first week of February.
Mohamed Geele has denied the charges of attempted murder and terrorism.
Kurt Westergaard is expected to testify tomorrow under heavy security.
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