The Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks, who has been under protection for years, since he became the subject of international protests but also of threats for having drawn Muhammad’s face on a dog’s body, died in a car accident with his two escort men. The car in which Vilks was traveling with two officers collided with a truck near Markaryd in southern Sweden, police said. The driver of the heavy vehicle was hospitalized.
“It was an incredibly tragic accident,” Swedish Culture Minister Amanda Lind commented on Twitter. Vilks, he added, had had to give up his freedom in 2010 for making use of freedom of expression and artistic freedom. Born in Helsingborg in 1946, Vilks was also known for his wood carvings. The publication of his cartoon in 2007 by a Swedish newspaper caused a wave of outrage and led then Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt to meet with ambassadors from 22 Muslim countries to try to ease tensions.
Subsequently, Al Qaeda in Iraq offered $ 100,000 in reward in exchange for his killing. In 2015 the artist took part in a debate on freedom of expression in Copenhagen. The event was the subject of an attack, directed against Vilks, according to the cartoonist himself, in which director Finn Nørgaard died.