Trial over Danish newspaper massacre plot begins

Four men on trial over a suspected plot to murder staff of a Danish newspaper that first published controversial cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed have pleaded not guilty.

The men appeared in court on Friday in the Danish capital Copenhagen. The prosecution named them as Sahbi Ben Mohamed Zalouti, Munir Awad and Omar Abdalla Aboelazm, all Swedish citizens of Tunisian, Lebanese and Moroccan origin respectively.

The fourth man, Mounir Ben Mohamed Dhahri, a Tunisian national living in Sweden who pleaded guilty to arms possession, faces charges of "attempted terrorism".

Prosecutors say the four were plotting to "kill a large number of people" at the Jyllands-Posten daily's offices in Copenhagen when they were arrested on December 29, 2010.

The men are accused of planning to open fire on the offices of Jyllands-Posten on the day that Crown Prince Frederik was due to visit the building.

The four had intended to cause heavy loss of life, they said, but the prince was not thought to be the target.

 Jyllands-Posten published 12 cartoons in 2005 of the Prophet Mohammed that Muslims believed were insulting, sparking violent and sometimes deadly protests around the world.

The men were in possession of a machine gun with a silencer, a revolver, 108 bullets, reams of duct tape, and $20,000 when they were arrested. The men have denied terrorism and illegal possession of weapons.

Danish police, who had been collaborating with their Swedish counterparts and had been wiretapping the suspects, arrested them just after hearing them say they were "going to" the newspaper office.

They could face between 14 and 16 years in prison if convicted at the trial in the Glostrup district court, just outside the Danish capital, Copenhagen.

The newspaper shares a central-Copenhagen office with the national daily, Politiken, and prosecutors said that a sporting award ceremony due to take place in the building on 29 December was the likely target of the bomb plot.

Crown Prince Frederik had been due to award a prize to badminton player Victor Axelsen.

Denmark remains a target for Islamist militants more than six years after the cartoons appeared.

Many Muslims were offended by the drawings, which violated an Islamic tenet banning the portrayal of his image.

At the time, Danish flags were burned and Danish embassies were attacked.