Prophet cartoon: Danish paper heightens security after Charlie Hebdo attack

Copenhagen: The Danish newspaper that caused a global stir with a series of controversial cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed stepped up security today after a deadly attack on a French satirical weekly, a report said.

Jyllands-Posten informed its staff by e-mail about the unspecified security measures after the armed attack on the Charlie Hebdo in Paris, in which at least 12 were killed, the Danish paper Berlingske said on its website.

“Surveillance and the level of security in and around our headquarters in Copenhagen and in (the west Danish city of) Viby has been increased,” Berlingske quoted the email as saying.

“We are following closely the situation in connection with the attack on Charlie Hebdo in Paris earlier today.”

Christine Blach, a spokeswoman for the newspaper, refused to comment on the security measures when contacted by AFP.

Jyllands-Posten published 12 cartoons on 30 September 2005, which caused angry and sometimes deadly protests worldwide. The cartoons were reprinted by Charlie Hebdo in 2006.

Kurt Westergaard, the artist behind the most controversial of the 12 cartoons, was targeted in a failed murder attempt at his home in 2010 but told media today that he did not fear for his safety thanks to police protection.

He told Danish public radio that the Paris attack was “scary and horrible” and he praised Charlie Hebdo’s staff for holding “all authoritarian forces” to account regardless of whether “they’re Islamists, Catholics or politicians”.

Meanwhile, the Danish security and intelligence service said in a statement that it was monitoring the situation carefully.

“For the time being, the situation does not warrant a change in the assessment of the terrorism threat against Denmark, which remains serious,” it said in a statement.

AFP