STOCKHOLM — Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks, who lived under police protection after his 2007 depiction of the Prophet Mohammed prompted death threats, died Sunday in a car accident. The 75-year-old and two police officers were killed in a collision with an oncoming truck, Swedish police confirmed to AFP. The accident occurred near the small town Markaryd when the car Vilks was traveling in crashed into an oncoming truck. Vilks had been under police protection since his 2007 cartoon of Mohammed with a dog’s body prompted outrage among those who consider depictions of the Muslim prophet deeply offensive or blasphemous. In 2015, Vilks survived a gun attack at a free-speech conference in Copenhagen that left a Danish film director dead.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer October 04, 2021 03:22 UTC