A man who attempted to send a letter bomb to a Danish newspaper which printed controversial cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed has been found guilty on terrorism charges. Lors Doukaev, 25, a Belgian citizen of Chechnyan origin, was found guilty on Monday and yesterday sentenced to 12 years in prison.
The ruling follows the submittal of court documents accusing Mr Doukaev of attempting to bomb the Danish news agency Jyllands-Posten with a letter bomb. However, his plan was thwarted when the device accidentally detonated in the Hotel Jorgensen in Copenhagen, where he was staying in September of last year.
The now-convicted assailant was injured in the blast, which also destroyed the toilet of his hotel room. He subsequently fled to a nearby park where he was apprehended by police. Authorities later detonated a device he was wearing at the time of his arrest. Doukaev was also found guilty of possessing a handgun.
The court heard how Doukaev had travelled to the Danish capital and checked into the hotel under a false name. He told police after his arrest that the firearm and the bomb were solely for personal security.
His target, the Jyllands-Posten newspaper, has been at the centre of global controversy since it published a series of drawings of the Muslim Prophet Mohammed in 2005. Tension increased a year later when a Norwegian newspaper also published images of the Islamic holy figure. Such depiction is strictly forbidden by Islamic law.