Brothers indicted for Vilks arson attack

Two brothers suspected of setting fire to the home of the Swedish Muhammad cartoonist Lars Vilks were charged with arson on Thursday.

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The suspects, who originate from Landskrona in western Sweden are charged with arson at Vilks' home in Nyhamnsläge, north of Höganäs on the west coast, on May 15th.

The house suffered extensive damage in the fire which was started in the evening. A kitchen window was shattered and flammable liquid was sprayed into the kitchen and while a curtain caught fire and the flames spread to a kitchen cupboard, the wall and ceiling, it later went out by itself.

The evidence against the men included two fire-damaged jackets, a knife, two plastic bottles and a lighter, as well as a pair of underwear and a jackknife.

In one of the jackets that police found at the crime scene, they found a key to the home of one of the brothers.

Further incriminating evidence supporting the charges against the brothers includes the fact that one of the brothers admitted himself to hospital on the same night as the with burns to his legs. The man also smelled of gasoline, according to a hospital employee that chief prosecutor Eva-Marie Persson has called as a witness.

Police were able to demonstrate from the analysis from a seized PC that one of the brothers had searched for Vilks' address on the internet.