A Danish court today sentenced a Somali man to nine years in prison followed by expulsion for trying to kill a cartoonist whose 2005 drawing of the prophet Mohammad sparked Muslim outrage around the world.
The court in the city of Aarhus sentenced Muhudiin Mohamed Geele to be expelled from Denmark and banned from the country for life after serving his sentence, Danish media reported.
Geele (29) who broke into the home of cartoonist Kurt Westergaard with an axe on New Year's Day last year, was convicted yesterday of an attempted act of terrorism and attempted manslaughter.
The prosecutor had asked for a 12-year sentence, but the defence lawyer had argued for between five and six years and is expected to lodge an appeal in a higher court.
Geele had pleaded not guilty to the terror and manslaughter charges, and said he had entered the cartoonist's home intending only to frighten him.
He was acquitted of another manslaughter charge, brought because he threw his axe at a police officer who arrived to arrest him, but was convicted of assaulting the officer.
Westergaard's drawing of the Prophet with a turban resembling a bomb was one of a dozen cartoons lampooning Islam published by the Danish daily Jyllands-Posten, which led to violent protests in 2006 and threats to cartoonists, journalists and the newspaper.
Most Muslims consider any depiction of the founder of Islam offensive, and protests resulted in at least 50 deaths.
Westergaard's cartoon was the one that attracted the most attention. He has lived for years under police protection following numerous threats against him and the newspaper.
Reuters