Would-be bomber guilty of attempted terrorism

Unanimous court agrees that Chechen was seeking to punish publishers of Mohammed drawings

 

A jury in Copenhagen today found Chechen-born Lors Doukaiev guilty of planning to send a letter bomb to the offices of the newspaper that published the Mohammed drawings.

Doukaiev was arrested in a Copenhagen park on September 10 after a minor explosion in a near-by hotel and later charged with attempting to commit a terrorist act, as well as illegally possessing an explosive device and a firearm.

The 25-year-old Belgian resident will be sentenced tomorrow. He faces a maximum of 16 years behind bars.

Doukaiev, who was the only person injured in the blast, admitted to accidentally setting off the bomb, but told the court that he was disarming the package he intended to use to protect himself from other Chechens while staying in at the hotel.

However a six member journey and a panel of three judges were convinced by the prosecution that Doukaiev’s intended target was the Jutland-office of Jyllands-Posten newspaper.

Among the evidence presented were envelopes with the address of the newspaper written on them, as well as computer records showing that he had visited the website of the newspaper while in Copenhagen.

In addition, the prosecution said the bomb was fashioned according to a manual found in a Liege, Belgium flat where a friend of Doukaiev lived. Also found in the same flat were videos promoting Islamic jihad.

Doukaiev’s defence explained he was visiting the website to read job advertisements, and added that there was no evidence to support the charges he was seeking to avenge the 2005 publication of the Mohammed drawings.

 




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