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Suspects in Vilks attack released

TT/Vivian Tse
TT/Vivian Tse - [email protected]
Suspects in Vilks attack released

Three suspects arrested for an attack on controversial artist Lars Vilks have been released on Wednesday, police have said.

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Meanwhile, late on Wednesday afternoon, Vilks' website was hacked.

The two men and one woman were arrested on Tuesday evening after violence marred a lecture by Vilks in Uppsala. They were released after several hours, according to police in Uppsala.

The incident is currently under investigation.

"One man is under suspicion for attempted assault and the other man for violence against a public official. The woman is suspected of violence against a public official and harassment after spitting in a police officer's face," said Frederick Selberg, Uppsala Police officer in command.

Vilks showed a film at the lecture of naked gay men wearing masks representing the prophet Muhammad. Minutes into the lecture, a man tried to attack Vilks. Police officers stepped in and Vilks left the hall. However, fights broke out between the police and the three suspects who were later arrested. Two police officers were slightly wounded.

Vilks has received numerous death threats after causing controversy for drawing cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad as a dog. Vilks was attacked while speaking at the university's philosophy faculty on Tuesday afternoon. He was not badly hurt and was taken to a secure location following the attack.

American Colleen R. LaRose, who called herself "JihadJane" in a YouTube video, was charged in October for trying to recruit terrorists to murder the artist. The arrest was made public in March when seven people were arrested in Ireland over a plot to kill Vilks. Four of those detained were later released.

LaRose's trial, in which she faces terrorism charges, was scheduled to start on May 3rd. It will now be delayed for months after the case was declared "complex." A judge heard a government request to apply security laws to the handling of evidence, allowing prosecutors and defence attorneys to sift through evidence from a dozen computer hard drives.

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