19 February 2008

MOHAMMED CARTOON CONTROVERSY RESURFACES


More than a dozen Danish newspapers last week reprinted a drawing of the Prophet Mohammed that caused worldwide controversy in 2006, in protest at a newly discovered plot to kill the cartoonist, according to Cartoonists Rights Network International (CRNI), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and news reports.

The papers said they wanted to show their firm commitment to freedom of speech after last week's arrest in western Denmark of three people accused of plotting to kill cartoonist Kurt Westergaard.

At least three newspapers in Sweden, the Netherlands and Spain also reprinted the cartoon as part of their coverage of the arrests.

Westergaard's cartoon, featuring the founder of Islam with a bomb in his turban, was considered the most controversial of 12 cartoons originally published in the Danish paper "Jyllands-Posten" in September 2005.

International furore erupted when the cartoons, considered blasphemous by many Muslims, were reprinted in various newspapers worldwide in 2006. CRNI says more than 100 people were killed in the subsequent rioting.

According to news reports, Danish Muslims say they are seeking to avoid a repeat of the violence that followed the original publication, and feel the Danish papers are seeking to rekindle the fiery debate over free speech and Islam.

"Jyllands-Posten" told CRNI, "The murder plot is part of a worldwide campaign by those who want to limit the right to free speech, and among them the UN Human Rights Council that last year passed a resolution calling for the criminalisation of cartoons like the one made by Kurt Westergaard. This is a disgrace for the UN."

A Danish citizen of Moroccan descent and two Tunisians were arrested on 12 February for their involvement in the "terror-related assassination" plot.

Visit these links:
- CRNI: http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/90719/
- CPJ: http://tinyurl.com/38arud
- Reuters via ABC News: http://tinyurl.com/2rg4jn
- Radio Netherlands on Iran's stance: http://tinyurl.com/2r8rsv
(19 February 2008)



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Also from the Communiqué, 19 February 2008

UNITED STATES: WORLD AFFAIRS JOURNALISM FELLOWSHIP PROGRAMME 19 February 2008 ROMANIA: RSF'S SIGNAL FOR EUROPE 2008 - PRESS FREEDOM AWARD 19 February 2008 INTERNATIONAL: INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION CONGRESS COMES TO SEOUL 19 February 2008 TUNISIA: COMEDIAN IN PRISON FOR SATIRISING PRESIDENT 19 February 2008 IRAQ: ABDUCTED REPORTER FOUND DEAD 19 February 2008 NORTH AFRICA: ARAB SATELLITE CHARTER MAJOR SETBACK TO PRESS FREEDOM IN REGION, SAY IFEX MEMBERS 19 February 2008 MEXICO: GOVERNMENT SILENT ON RECENT SPATE OF ATTACKS ON PRESS 19 February 2008 INTERNATIONAL: NO PUBLIC COMMITMENT TO PRESS FREEDOM AND MORE ANTI-MEDIA VIOLENCE IN 2008, SAYS REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS 19 February 2008

Denmark

Kurdish Roj TV fined but remains on air 12 January 2012 Arrests foil plot to assassinate creator of controversial cartoon 13 February 2008 WAN hails victory for press freedom as court acquits journalists of disclosing Iraq intelligence secrets 5 December 2006 IFJ testifies in defence of journalists accused of publishing government secrets in reports on Iraq 16 November 2006 Three journalists charged with "harming state security", face possible two-year prison sentence 13 November 2006 See all alerts: Denmark


Western Europe

FRANCE: Documentary filmmaking threatened by court ruling 7 February 2012 KAZAKHSTAN / GERMANY: Make rights key to good relations, says Human Rights Watch 6 February 2012 WESTERN EUROPE / TURKEY: TV satellite operator usurps court’s prerogative to silence Kurdish TV station 20 January 2012 FRANCE: Senate must reject Armenian Genocide law, says ARTICLE 19 20 January 2012


 
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