In absentia trial of Danish cartoonist resumes in Jordan

May 8, 2011, 14:50 GMT

Amman - The trial in absentia of cartoonist Kurt Westergaard and 19 other Danish editors and journalists on charges of publishing 'blasphemous' pictures of Islam's Prophet Mohammed resumed in Amman on Sunday.

The defendants did not appear in court and did not ask lawyers to represent them in the lawsuit, which was filed by the God's Prophet Unites Us Campaign, a coalition of Jordanian academics, lawmakers, unionists, journalists, lawyers and politicians.

However, Sunday's session was attended by Danish journalist Uffe Taudal, the Middle East bureau chief of the daily Berlingske Tidende, who came to Amman to cover the proceedings.

Westergaard published 12 satirical pictures of the prophet in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten on September 30, 2005, stirring outrage in the Arab and Islamic worlds that prompted a boycott of Danish products.

One of the pictures showed the prophet with a lit bomb, instead of a turban, on his head.

During Sunday's session, the head of the campaign, Zakariya al- Sheikh, told the court that the cartoons sought to depict Islam as a religion that preaches terrorism.

'The pictures insult the feelings of all Muslims because it depicts them as terrorists, besides running counter to the freedom of expression,' he said.

Also testifying before the court was the campaign's official spokesman, Marwan Shehadeh, who contended that the cartoons had sought to 'to sow hatred among religions and between West and East as well as fanning up the conflict among civilizations and trying to attribute terrorism to Islam.'

The trial was adjourned to Wednesday, when more witnesses will be heard.

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