By Ron Howells • Published: 04 Oct 2021 • 10:28
The controversial Swedish 'Mohammad' cartoonist Lars Vilks has been killed in a car crash. image: Twitter
The controversial Swedish ‘Mohammad’ cartoonist Lars Vilks was killed in a car crash involving a lorry on Sunday, October 3.
A Swedish artist who sparked anger from the Muslim community after sketching the Prophet Muhammad’s head on a dog’s body has died in a traffic accident, according to local media.
Lars Vilks was reportedly travelling in a civilian police vehicle that collided with a truck near the town of Markaryd in southern Sweden. Two police officers were also killed and the truck driver was injured. Vilks, 75, lived under police protection after being subjected to death threats over the cartoon.
The cartoon, published in 2007, offended many Muslims who regard the visual representation of the Prophet as blasphemous. It came a year after a Danish newspaper published cartoons of the Prophet. Police have not revealed the identity of those killed in Sunday’s incident, however, Vilks’s partner confirmed his death to Dagens Nyheter newspaper.
In 2015, Vilks attended a debate on free speech that was targeted in a gun attack in Copenhagen, he later said he was probably meant to be the target of the attack, which killed a film director.
An investigation into the tragic accident has been launched, police say that at the moment they are not looking at a terrorist or revenge motive.
Read more:
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