BRITAIN: Four men appeared in a British court yesterday charged in connection with a heated protest in London against Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad which sparked uproar in the Islamic world earlier this year.
The four, aged between 22 and 30, are accused of a range of offences including incitement to racial hatred and soliciting the murder of American and Danish nationals. They all took part in a demonstration against the cartoons outside the Danish embassy in London on February 3rd. Some carried placards praising suicide bombers and chanted slogans against non-Muslims, Danes and Americans.
The cartoons were first published in a Danish newspaper last September and then reprinted in other parts of Europe and the US. One of them depicted the Prophet wearing a headscarf fashioned as a bomb. Many Muslims were outraged by the cartoons, which they deemed a slur on their religion.
There were attacks on Danish embassies in parts of Africa, Asia and the Middle East, and more than 50 people died. The protest in London was one of several across Europe.
The four men who appeared in court were Umran Javed (26), Abdul Muhid (23), Mizanur Rahman (22) and Abdul Saleem (30). The first three are charged with soliciting murder, while Mr Saleem is accused of using threatening words and behaviour to stir up racial hatred.
All four deny the charges.
No date has been set for their trials.