Terror Threat in Norway

On Monday I reported that the Swedish security police arrested four Somali mujahideen before they could carry out a terror attack. There were some indications that the artist Lars Vilks, who drew the infamous Roundabout Dogs, may have been their intended target.

Now a similar incident has occurred in Norway. This time the intended target was the Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard (on the left in the above photo, with Lars Vilks). Mr. Westergaard is the creator of the iconic “Turban Bomb” cartoon, one of the twelve original Mohammed cartoons that were so offensive to the world’s 8.77 quintillion Muslims. He was visiting Norway earlier this week, but was forced to leave abruptly after the Norwegian authorities learned of a plan to kill him, and were evidently unable to guarantee his safety.

The official cover story was that the artist was taken ill, and had to return home, but this was not what actually happened. Here’s the story from yesterday’s Ekstra-Bladet, as translated by Henrik Ræder Clausen:

The Norwegian daily Dagbladet reports that the Norwegian intelligence service PST requested that Kurt Westergaard to leave Norway immediately.

The service — which corresponds to the FBI in the United States — is said to have received evidence of a planned assassination attempt, writes Dagbladet.

Kurt Westergaard is under permanent protection by the Danish police PET.

“I can confirm that Kurt Westergaard has been in Norway, and that he returned to Denmark yesterday,” says Trond Hugubakken, chief of communication for PST, to Dagbladet.

“Westergaard lives with constant death threats. Apart from that I have no comments,” says Trond Hugubakken.

Kurt Westergaard was in Norway to present a book and a CD he has illustrated for the Norwegian folk singer and author Geirr Lystrup.

But Monday night the publisher was suddenly informed by the police in Oslo that Kurt Westergaard had fallen ill and for that reason had returned to Denmark.

Folk singer Geirr Lystrup spoke on the phone to Kurt Westergaard Monday evening.

“I got a call from Westergaard late Monday evening, where he told me that he had had some heart trouble. It came as a bolt from the blue for me. It is shocking, and I am of course worried that something might happen to him,” says Geir Lystrup to the Norwegian news agency NTB.

Kurt Westergaard’s visit to Norway has been subject to heavy security measures.

Westergaard arrived Friday with his wife and several security guards.

Photo © Snaphanen.