Somali denies Danish cartoonist murder charges

gavel1The Somali man at the centre of the attempted murder of a Danish cartoonist has denied the charges.

The young Danish-Somali held by police for the attempted killing of Kurt Westergaard, along with a local police officer, appeared in Arhus on a remand hearing—carried on a stretcher—and denied all of the charges against him. He was carried into the courtroom on a stretcher with his head wrapped in a towel and his body swathed in hospital blankets to hide his identity.

The man has been remanded for four weeks into police custody, two in isolation, with Judge Kristin Richter issuing an injunction against having his name released. Witnesses have described him as having a crew-cut hairstyle and goatee beard.

Politiken reports that in court the 28-year-old man was visibly weak as he announced his not guilty plea against the two charges of attempted murder. His leg was in a splint while his arm is bandaged. The injuries are a result of a gunshot wounds from the failed attack on police officers with an axe.

Meanwhile, Swedish newspaper Expressen reported that the Somali man and the suicide bomber from the previous week’s Mogadishu attack had both been in Sweden together last year. The paper reveals that the pair had been collecting funds for the Somali al-Shabaab organisation.

“We are following this very closely and have extensive cooperation with the Danish Security and Intelligence Service,” said Patrik Peter from Sweden’s SAPO intelligence agency, which is investigating Somali terrorist training camps.

Comments are closed.