Four Muslim Swedish citizens are charged for planning terror against Jyllands-Posten — famous for publishing the Muhammed cartoons: Charges ‘imminent’ for Swedish terror suspects (5 Dec 11), Suspects planned to ‘kill as many as possible’ (2 Mar 12), ‘Secret judges’ in Danish terror case: Swede’s rep (8 Apr 12), Swedish terror suspects plead ‘not guilty’ (13 Apr 12).
Translated from Danish by Nicolai Sennels, Politiken April 17: “Suspected terrorist: I came to Copenhagen to look at your famous fireworks”
The 46-year-old accused, MD, explained in court today that he arrived in Copenhagen at the end of December 2010 to celebrate the New Year.
“It was mostly for the fireworks. Your fireworks in Denmark is very famous. I would walk the streets and meet people. I would go to bars. You do not drink when you go out,” said MD in court in the city of Glostrup.
MD is — along with three other men — accused of planning a terrorist attack against Jyllands-Posten / Politiken Hus in December 2010 as revenge for the publication of the Muhammad cartoons.
The explanation came when the prosecutor Gyrith Ulrich asked MD to explain his trip from Stockholm to Copenhagen. In the car were also OA and MA, both indicted in the case.
MD explained that he knew that OA and MA came to visit some mosques and meet people in Copenhagen.
The car the men drove in was rented until the fourth of January. The prosecutor wanted to know why MD had so few clothes with him when he was planning to be away for 6 to 9 days.
MD replied: “Is it not possible to buy clothes in Denmark? I always do.”
In addition the prosecutor noted, “It’s a little expensive in the long run.”
“It might be to some, but that is how I normally travel. I have done so for all my life since I was 15,” said MD.
MD and the other defendants were arrested on December 29, 2010, as police stormed an apartment in the city of Roskilde, where the men slept.
The prosecutor explained that a machine gun was found in MD’s backpack, and that a gun was crammed in between the mattresses that he was sleeping on.
MD explained that he had been living a criminal life in Stockholm, and that there was always somebody who was threatening him.
MD further explained that the machine gun was broken and was to be repaired in Copenhagen, where his machine gun repairman “MISHU” is.
“We were going to meet at a train station on January 3rd. He would have the machine gun and he would repair it. If he sold it, it was fine, I would then get the money back,” MD explained in court today.
MD was also questioned in court yesterday. He explained that in November 2008 he left his wife and their child, and his wife’s sister — whom he also had a child with — and a mistress to live a life as a drug smuggler between Turkey and Iran.
MD also explained that he traveled in a number of countries, while he supported himself as clothing and carpet trader, dishwasher and other odd jobs. It gave him the opportunity to save up. In sum, he seems to have saved 20,000 USD.
This corresponds to the amount that was found by police along with the guns in the apartment in Herlev on December 29, 2010.
According to the Danish Police Intelligence Service (PET), the men planned to carry out an attack against Jyllands-Posten at the Town Hall Square in Copenhagen.