Mohammed cartoons row: Jyllands Posten will not be charged

Posted by Dominique Lewis Tuohy on March 16, 2006 at 2:37 PM

Denmark's Director of Public Prosecutions Henning Fode has announced that he will not press charges against Jyllands Posten, the newspaper that began the recent Mohammed cartoons row by publishing, in September 2005, a series of 12 cartoons of the prophet Mohammed. The cartoons resulted in uproar and sometimes violent protests amongst the Muslim community worldwide. Mr. Fode asserted that the Jyllands Posten cartoons did not contravene Danish law on racism and blasphemy.

However, Mr. Fode did comment in his ruling that the cartoon of Mohammed wearing a bomb-shaped turban "may with good reason be understood as an affront and insult to the Prophet who is an ideal for believing Muslims."

Carsten Juste, editor in chief of Jyllands Posten, has described Mr. Fode's ruling as "satisfactory." The paper has apologised to Muslims for the cartoons, but has defended its decision to publish them on the grounds of freedom of expression.

Mr. Fode's office has confirmed that it has received several complaints disputing the decision not to prosecute the newspaper. The Islamic Faith Community, one of the groups that complained, has asserted it is considering raising the issue with the European Court of Human Rights.

The Danish Foreign Ministry has warned that Mr. Fode's decision may result in hostile reactions towards Danes and has told Danish citizens to exercise caution when traveling abroad.

Source: ABC News, Times Online

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