Muhammad cartoon revenge plot trial opens in Denmark

[Gerald]

Four men accused of planning an attack on a Danish newspaper that printed cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad have gone on trial in Denmark.

Three Swedish citizens and a Tunisian are accused of terrorism and illegal possession of weapons.

The four men, detained in December 2010 in Denmark and Sweden, pleaded not guilty through their lawyers.

Jyllands-Posten published the cartoons of Islam's holiest figure in 2005, sparking riots in Muslim countries.

Munir Awad, Omar Abdallah Aboelazm and Munir Ben Mohamed Dhahri, a Tunisian citizen, were picked up by police in December 2010 at a flat near the Danish capital, Copenhagen.

Sabhi Ben Mohamed Zalouti was arrested a day later after crossing back into Sweden, then extradited back to Denmark.

They could face between 14 and 16 years in prison if convicted at the trial in the Glostrup district court, just outside the Danish capital, Copenhagen.

Embassies attacked.

A machine-gun with a silencer, a revolver and 108 bullets and reams of duct tape were among items found in the men's possession when they were arrested.

Prosecutors say they intended to cause havoc and kill as many people as possible in an attack similar to that in Mumbai, India in 2008. Swedish and Danish intelligence officials say they tracked the men for a number of months.

Denmark remains a target for Islamist militants more than six years after the cartoons appeared.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17698436

Note: 13 April 2012 Last updated at 10:09 GMT