Category Archives: Freedom of Speech

Copenhagen, Denmark Danish police shot and killed a man early Sunday suspected of carrying out shooting attacks at a free speech event and then at a Copenhagen synagogue, killing two men, including a member of Denmark's Jewish community. Five police officers were also wounded in the attacks.

"Denmark has been hit by terror," Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt said. "We do not know the motive for the alleged perpetrator's actions, but we know that there are forces that want to hurt Denmark. They want to rebuke our freedom of speech."

Jens Madsen, head of the Danish intelligence agency PET, said investigators believe the gunman was inspired by Islamic radicalism.

"PET is working on a theory that the perpetrator could have been inspired by the events in Paris. He could also have been inspired by material sent out by (the Islamic State group) and others," Madsen said.

Islamic radicals carried out a massacre at the Charlie Hebdo newsroom in Paris last month, followed by an attack on Jews at a kosher grocery store, taking the lives of 17 victims.

At a news conference Madsen also said investigators have identified the suspect and that he is someone who had been on the agency's "radar." He did not reveal his identity.

Denmark's Chief Rabbi, Jair Melchior, identified the Jewish victim as Dan Uzan, 37, a longtime security guard for the 7,000-strong community. He was guarding a building behind the synagogue during a bat mitzvah when he was shot. Two police officers who were there were slightly wounded.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decried the attack and said his government plans to encourage a "massive immigration" of Jews from Europe.

"Again, Jews were murdered on European soil just because they were Jews," Netanyahu said at the start of his Cabinet meeting Sunday. "This wave of attacks is expected to continue, as well as murderous anti-Semitic attacks. Jews deserve security in every country, but we say to our Jewish brothers and sisters, Israel is your home."

Other leaders also condemned the attacks, including British Prime Minister David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and EU President Donald Tusk,

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Danish police kill man suspected of Saturday's attacks

#39;Freedom Of Speech #39; Topic Tuesday #12
Hello guys and welcome to the 11th of my Topic Tuesdays, I hope you enjoy the video! For the topics it can be game related or just something random! Totally up to the viewer which is YOU! ...

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'Freedom Of Speech' Topic Tuesday #12 - Video

Freedom of Speech != Freedom of Forum

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Freedom of Speech != Freedom of Forum - Video

Michael Buerk Interview - Freedom of Speech Paris Attacks
Michael Buerk Interview - Freedom of Speech Paris Attacks Subscribe to Red Carpet News: http://bit.ly/1s3BQ54 Michael Buerk talks to Red Carpet News at the...

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Michael Buerk Interview - Freedom of Speech & Paris Attacks - Video

As many as 200 bullet holes ripped through the window of the Krudttoenden caf and at least two people were taken away on stretchers, including a uniformed police officer.

The gunmen then fled the area in a dark coloured VW Polo car, according to witnesses. The car was later found in a nearby street but the two gunmen were still at large on Saturday night.

Helle Merete Brix, one of the organisers of the event called Art, Blasphemy And The Freedom Of Expression confirmed that Vilks was at the event but had not been injured.

She said: I saw a masked man running past. A couple of police officers were injured. I clearly consider this as an attack on Lars Vilks.

Niels Ivar Larsen, one of the speakers at the event, said: I heard someone firing with an automatic weapons and someone shouting. Police returned the fire and I hid behind the bar. I felt surreal, like in a movie.

In a statement, Danish police said the victim was a 40-year-old who had been attending the event. He had not been identified last night.

Blix was ushered away shortly after the attack by one of the Danish police guards that accompanies him whenever he is in the country.

A police officer is carried into an ambulance after being shot after a public meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark (Lars Ronbog)

In a statement, French President Francois Hollande called the shooting deplorable and said Mrs Thorning-Schmidt would have the full solidarity of France in this trial.

According to Vilkss website, the event was staged to mark the anniversary of the fatwa issued against Salman Rushdie by Irans Ayatollah Khamenei, in 1989, following the publication of the Satanic Verses. As well as Vilks, Inna Chevchenko from the feminist protest group Femen was also due to attend.

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Copenhagen caf: two gunmen in terror attack at freedom of speech event

A MAJOR manhunt is under way for a gunman who opened fire on a freedom-of-speech event in Copenhagen, leaving a civilian dead and three police officers injured.

The shooter opened fire at the Krudttonden cafe, killing a man, during an event featuring Swedish cartoonist and historian Lars Vilks, who depicted the Prophet Mohammed with the body of a dog in 2007.

Danish police, who initially said they were searching for two suspects, issued a picture of the main suspect this evening, taken on street cameras near to where the getaway car, a VW Polo, was later found dumped.

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The cafe in northern Copenhagen was hosting an event titled Art, Blasphemy And The Freedom Of Expression when the shots were fired, according to reports.

It comes little more than month after the attack on the offices of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris which left 12 people dead.

Copenhagen Police said both Mr Vilks and French ambassador to Denmark Francois Zimeray, who was also at the event, were both unharmed. The three police officers are also "out of danger", they said.

Mr Zimeray tweeted from his FranceDK account shortly after the shooting, writing: "Still alive in the room."

Police said the perpetrators fled in a dark coloured VW Polo car and warned the public not to approach the vehicle or driver.

According to larsvilks.com, the event was marking the anniversary of the fatwa against Salman Rushdie. As well as Mr Vilks, Inna Chevchenko from the feminist protest group Femen was also due to attend.

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One man dead and three policemen wounded at freedom of speech seminar in Denmark

AP Photo/Polfoto, Mikkel Tariq Khan Emergency services gather outside a venue after shots were fired where an event titled "Art, blasphemy and the freedom of expression" was being held in Copenhagen, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2015. Danish media say several shots have been fired at a cafe in Copenhagen where a meeting about freedom of speech was being held, organized by Swedish artist Lars Vilks, who has faced numerous threats for caricaturing the Prophet Muhammad in 2007.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) At least one gunman opened fire Saturday on a Copenhagen cafe, killing one man in what authorities called a likely terror attack during a free speech event organized by an artist who had caricatured the Prophet Muhammad.

The shooting, which also wounded three police officers, came a month after extremists killed 12 people at a satirical newspaper in Paris that had also sparked Muslim outrage with its depictions of Muhammad.

Swedish artist Lars Vilks, who has been repeatedly threatened after depicting Muhammad as a dog in 2007, organized and attended Saturday's event but was not hit by gunfire, police said.

"I saw a masked man running past," said Helle Merete Brix, one of the event's organizers. "I clearly consider this as an attack on Lars Vilks."

She and Vilks were quickly ushered away by the security detail that accompanies the artist whenever he is in Denmark.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the shooting, which took place shortly before 4 p.m. (1500 GMT, 10 a.m. EST). Denmark's security service, PET, said the circumstances surrounding the shooting "indicate that we are talking about a terror attack."

Danish police said the gunman used an automatic weapon to shoot through the windows of the Krudttoenden cafe, which TV footage showed were riddled with bullet holes. The gunman then fled in a carjacked Volkswagen Polo that was found later a few kilometers (miles) away, police said.

"I heard someone firing with an automatic weapons and someone shouting. Police returned the fire and I hid behind the bar. I felt surreal, like in a movie," Niels Ivar Larsen, one of the speakers at the event, told the TV2 channel.

Police initially said there were two gunmen but later said they believed there was only one shooter, and described him as 25-30 years old with an athletic build, and carrying a black automatic weapon. They released a blurred photograph of the suspect wearing dark clothes and a scarf covering part of his face.

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Shots fired at Copenhagen cafe free speech event

AP Photo/Polfoto, Mikkel Tariq Khan Emergency services gather outside a venue after shots were fired where an event titled "Art, blasphemy and the freedom of expression" was being held in Copenhagen, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2015. Danish media say several shots have been fired at a cafe in Copenhagen where a meeting about freedom of speech was being held, organized by Swedish artist Lars Vilks, who has faced numerous threats for caricaturing the Prophet Muhammad in 2007.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) At least one gunman opened fire Saturday on a Copenhagen cafe, killing one man in what authorities called a likely terror attack during a free speech event organized by an artist who had caricatured the Prophet Muhammad.

The shooting, which also wounded three police officers, came a month after extremists killed 12 people at a satirical newspaper in Paris that had also sparked Muslim outrage with its depictions of Muhammad.

Swedish artist Lars Vilks, who has been repeatedly threatened after depicting Muhammad as a dog in 2007, organized and attended Saturday's event but was not hit by gunfire, police said.

"I saw a masked man running past," said Helle Merete Brix, one of the event's organizers. "I clearly consider this as an attack on Lars Vilks."

She and Vilks were quickly ushered away by the security detail that accompanies the artist whenever he is in Denmark.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the shooting, which took place shortly before 4 p.m. (1500 GMT, 10 a.m. EST). Denmark's security service, PET, said the circumstances surrounding the shooting "indicate that we are talking about a terror attack."

Danish police said the gunman used an automatic weapon to shoot through the windows of the Krudttoenden cafe, which TV footage showed were riddled with bullet holes. The gunman then fled in a carjacked Volkswagen Polo that was found later a few kilometers (miles) away, police said.

"I heard someone firing with an automatic weapons and someone shouting. Police returned the fire and I hid behind the bar. I felt surreal, like in a movie," Niels Ivar Larsen, one of the speakers at the event, told the TV2 channel.

Police initially said there were two gunmen but later said they believed there was only one shooter, and described him as 25-30 years old with an athletic build, and carrying a black automatic weapon. They released a blurred photograph of the suspect wearing dark clothes and a scarf covering part of his face.

Originally posted here:

1 dead in shooting at Copenhagen free speech event

Shots rang out Saturday afternoon at a cafe in Copenhagen, Denmark, killing one person and wounding three police officers during a freedom of speech event hosted by controversial Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks, police said. As authorities continued searching for the lone shooter, Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt put the entire nation on high alert and condemned the violence as a "terrorist attack."

"We feel certain now that it was a politically motivated attack, and thereby it was a terrorist attack," she told reporters close to the site of the shooting. An event organizer said that Vilks was present at the conference, but was not injured.

The suspect fled after gunfire erupted around 4 p.m. local time (10 a.m. ET) at Krudttoenden cafe in the Osterbro district, Copenhagen police said in a statement. A surveillance photo shows the suspect wearing dark clothes and a scarf. Police said initial interviews indicate only one person fired the shots, and had left the scene in a dark-colored Volkswagen Polo that had been carjacked. The car was later found.

The TV2 channel said there were some 30 bullet holes in the window of the cafe and at least two people were taken away on stretchers. Police told NBC News that one person was killed but it was unclear whether the victim, described as a civilian, died at the scene.

Inna Shevchenko, the leader of Ukrainian feminist group FEMEN, tweeted that she was participating in a panel discussion at the cafe when the shooting occurred. "I didn't see anything. I heard about 20 shots while speaking and then people started to run," she wrote.

Vilks has faced numerous death threats for caricaturing the Prophet Muhammad in 2007. A Pennsylvania woman last year got a 10-year prison term for a plot to kill Vilks. In 2010, two brothers tried to burn down his house in southern Sweden and were imprisoned for attempted arson.

The event that the 68-year-old artist was hosting Saturday was called "Arts, Blasphemy and Freedom of Expression," according to his website. When the artist is in Denmark, he receives police protection.

Swedish artist Lars Vilks talks during an interview with the Associated Press in Stockholm, Sweden, on March 10, 2010.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

First published February 14 2015, 8:10 AM

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Shots Fired at Copenhagen Free Speech Event: Reports

A man has died after at least one gunman opened fire on a cafe in the Danish capital of Copenhagen, which was hosting a freedom of speech debate.

Three policemen were also injured in the shooting at the debate organised by Swedish artist Lars Vilks, who has faced numerous threats for caricaturing the Prophet Mohammed.

Denmarks security service PET said the circumstances surrounding the shooting indicate that we are talking about a terror attack.

Danish police said the gunman used an automatic weapon to shoot through the windows of the Krudttoenden cafe, which TV footage showed were riddled with bullet holes. The gunman then fled in a hijacked Volkswagen Polo that was found later a few miles away.

Police initially said there were two gunmen but later said they believed there was only one shooter, and described him as 25 to 30 years old with an athletic build, and carrying a black automatic weapon. They released a blurred photograph of the suspect wearing dark clothes and a scarf covering part of his face.

The shooting came a month after Islamic militants attacked another media outlet that had printed cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine in Paris, killing 12 people.

A police spokesman said it was possible the gunman had planned the same scenario as in the Charlie Hebdo massacre.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the shooting, which took place shortly before 4pm local time.

Helle Merete Brix, one of the organisers of the event, said Mr Vilks was present at the event but not injured.

She said: I saw a masked man running past. I clearly consider this as an attack on Lars Vilks.

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One dead after shots fired at Copenhagen freedom of speech meeting