Mon 04 October 2021:
According to local media, Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks, who was known for his derogatory depictions of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad, died in a car accident on Sunday.
Police have not revealed the identity of those killed in Sunday’s incident, but Vilks’s partner confirmed his death to Dagens Nyheter newspaper.
According to Sweden’s state broadcaster SVT, the car carrying Vilks and the officers collided with a truck, causing both vehicles to catch fire.
National Police Chief Anders Thornberg said: “It is with dismay and great sadness that I received the news that our two colleagues and our security person died this afternoon. My thoughts go to relatives, families, friends and co-workers.”
İslam karşıtlığıyla bilinen ve çizdiği Hazreti Muhammed karikatürleri nedeniyle İslam dünyasında büyük tepkiye neden olan İsveçli karikatürist Lars Vilks ile iki koruma polisi, trafik kazası sonrası yanarak öldü.
— Takvim (@takvim) October 4, 2021
Vilks had been living under police protection since the controversial 2007 sketch due to death threats.
Police said they have launched an investigation into the incident.
In 2007, Sweden’s local newspaper Nerikes Allehanda published Vilks’ cartoon insulting the Prophet Muhammad. Since then, he had been living in a secret location with police guards.
The cartoon caused outrage and led then Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt to meet ambassadors from 22 Muslim countries in an attempt to defuse the situation.
After the Charlie Hebdo attack, Vilks said that even fewer organisations were inviting him to give lectures amid increased security concerns.
In 2013, an American woman who called herself Jihad Jane was sentenced to 10 years in prison for plotting to kill him.
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