Danish cartoonist attacker guilty
Mohamed Geele is expected to be sentenced by the court in Aarhus on Friday [EPA] |
A Somali man who targeted Kurt Westergaard, a Danish cartoonist known for caricaturing the Prophet Mohammad, has been found guilty of attempted murder and terrorism by a Danish court.
Mohamed Geele, 29, had attempted to enter Westergaard's home in the eastern city of Aarhus on New Year's Day, 2010.
The cartoonist, 75, locked himself in a panic room and escaped unhurt.
Geele, who was acquitted of a separate charge of attempting to murder a policeman trying to arrest him, had denied the charges. He is expected to be sentenced by the court in Aarhus on Friday.
Westergaard's drawing of the Prophet, published by a Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten in September 2005, triggered violent protests a few months later in a number of countries around the world.
The protesters felt the cartoons had profoundly insulted Islam, which opposes any depiction of the Prophet.
Several dozen people were killed during the riots at the time as angry crowds attacked Danish embassies around the world.