A Somali-born man who recently broke into the home of the Dane who who drew the controversial cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed faces terrorism charges, his lawyer said Monday, DPA reported.
The 28-year-old suspect has been in custody since January 2, the day after he was arrested after breaking into cartoonist Kurt Westergaard's home in western Denmark, armed with an axe and knife.
The Somali man's lawyer, Niels Christian Strauss, said the charges had been expanded to include attempted terrorism, Danish media reported. A conviction could result in a life-long sentence.
The suspect - who has been ordered to remain in custody until the end of January - earlier faced charges of attempting to murder Westergaard and a police officer alerted to the break-in. The man was shot and wounded in the hand and knee when he tried to attack the policeman.
Westergaard's controversial cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed with a bomb in his turban was one of 12 images published in September 2005 by the newspaper Jyllands-Posten. The cartoons sparked outrage among Muslims and violent protests worldwide in early 2006.
Several plots against Westergaard have since then been uncovered.
Meanwhile, a new survey suggested that a growing number of Danish artists, writers, gallery owners and museums were exercising self- censorship.
The weekly A4 magazine reported that 47 per cent of the 654 people it polled said they felt that freedom of speech was threatened in Denmark while 12 per cent said they had at least on one occasion dropped a project, often over fears of personal threats.
Culture Minister Carina Christensen said she was concerned at the outcome of the survey conducted on behlaf of the Danish Confederation of Trade Unions.
The minister said she planned to invite Danish art and culture organizations to discuss the trend of increased self-censorship.