Saturday, January 22, 2011

Judge Censures Cartoonist over Court Outburst against 'Terrorist Attacker'

THE AUSTRALIAN: A Danish judge has had to call the cartoonist Kurt Westergaard to order after an outburst against the man who is accused of trying to kill him.

“He's just a cowardly liar, a terrorist!” exclaimed the 75-year-old, who has drawn the wrath of the Muslim world for his caricature of the Prophet Mohammed wearing a turban that resembled a bomb.

The accused man, a care worker of Somali origin, broke into the cartoonist's home a year ago, wielding an axe. On Wednesday, at the outset of the trial, Mohammed Geele, 29, said that he had used the axe to enter the house and that his aim was to frighten Mr Westergaard and express his anger about the cartoon.

Mr Westergaard rejected his version. “He was like a religious insane young man,” he told the court in Aarhus yesterday. “I believe he entered the house as a holy warrior who wanted to kill an infidel.” He turned to look at his assailant - the first time that they had actually seen each other. >>> Roger Boyes, The Times | Friday, January 21, 2011