Irish police free fourth suspect in cartoonist plot probe

15 Mar, 2010

A fourth Muslim arrested over an alleged plot to kill a Swedish cartoonist who drew the Prophet Mohammed with the body of a dog has been released without charge, Irish police said Saturday. The woman was detained Tuesday unty on his head from an al Qaeda-linked group.
Three men remain in custody. Two other women and a man were freed without charge Friday. Police said files on all four suspects freed so far will be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), meaning charges could still be brought.
"A female arrested on March 9 and detained at Thomastown Garda (police) station (in south-east Ireland) has been released from custody this afternoon," said a brief statement. Those originally arrested were three Algerians, a Libyan, a Palestinian, a Croatian and a US national, a police source told AFP on Thursday. They ranged in age from mid 20s to late 40s.
The Wall Street Journal reported that one of the women detained was 31-year-old US citizen Jamie Paulin-Ramirez. The controversy started when Swedish regional daily Nerikes Allehanda published Vilks' satirical cartoon in 2007.
This prompted protests by Muslims in the town of Oerebro, west of Stockholm, where the newspaper is based, while Egypt, Iran and Pakistan made formal complaints. An al Qaeda front organisation then offered 100,000 dollars to anyone who murdered Vilks - with an extra 50,000 if his throat was slit - and 50,000 dollars for the death of Nerikes Allehanda editor-in-chief Ulf Johansson.

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