Four men pled not guilty Friday as they went on trial in Denmark over a suspected plot to massacre the staff of a newspaper that first published controversial cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH). Sahbi Ben Mohamed Zalouti, Munir Awad and Omar Abdalla Aboelazm, all Swedish citizens of Tunisian, Lebanese and Moroccan origin respectively, along with a Tunisian national living in Sweden, Mounir Ben Mohamed Dhahri, face charges of “attempted terrorism.” Prosecutors say the four were plotting to “kill a large number of people” at the Jyllands-Posten daily’s offices in Copenhagen when they were arrested on December 29, 2010.
A machine gun with a silencer, a revolver, 108 bullets, reams of duct tape, and $20,000 were among the items found in the men’s possession when they were arrested. Danish police, who had been collaborating with their Swedish counterparts and had been wiretapping the men, swooped in just after hearing them say they were “going to” the newspaper office. One of the two prosecutors, Henrik Plaehn, told the Glostrup district court that a ceremony celebrating the Sporting Newcomer of the Year at the newspaper was likely the target of the suspected plot. In addition to a number of sports celebrities, Danish Crown Prince Frederik was present at the ceremony. “It appears this event was the target,” he said, according to Jyllands-Posten, stressing though that the prosecution did not know if the four accused had known the prince was there and did not think they had been after him. Plaehn also argued that there was evidence the plot had links to Pakistan, but said he would provide more details later in the trial, which is set to last until June.
