4 Feb 2011

Attacker of cartoonist found guilty

8:03 am on 4 February 2011

A court in Denmark has found a Somali man guilty of attempted murder after he tried to kill a cartoonist who caricatured the Prophet Mohammed.

Mohamed Geele, 29, broke into the home of Kurt Westergaard last year, wielding an axe.

He was shot and wounded by police after Mr Westergaard, 75, raised the alarm and took shelter in a panic room.

But he was acquitted of a separate charge of attempting to murder a policeman trying to arrest him.

Geeledenied the charges. He told the court in Aarhus he was only trying to frighten the cartoonist.

A judge is expected to pass sentence on Friday.

Mr Westergaard's cartoon of a turban bomb was one of 12 published in Jyllands-Posten newspaper in 2005. It prompted protests among Muslims around the world.