COPENHAGEN
Turkish authorities declined to provide information about a suspect in the attempted murder of Islam critic Lars Hedegaard last April on Thursday.
A 26-year old man of Lebanese origin was arrested in Turkey in October, for allegedly trying to shoot the Danish right-wing writer and critic of Islam, Lars Hedegaard. There are unconfirmed reports that the suspect had been released.
Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs Martin Lidegaard had discussed the arrest with the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Wednesday, but said that there was no comment on the suspect's status. Cavusoglu offered to send a delegation from Turkey for discussions on the issue.
"I said that the 26-year-old suspect that we seek to extradite was released without informing us, and that this is unacceptable,” Lidegaard complained.
“We wanted a very clear statement from Turkish authorities. I made it clear to the Turkish minister that this situation would provoke outrage in Denmark.”
The issue was discussed in Danish Parliament by the Foreign Relations Commission on Thursday; the commission included Danish Justice Minister Mette Frederiksen.
Turkey's ambassador to Denmark was summoned on Thursday to the Danish Foreign Ministry for the second time to answer questions on the reports of the suspect's release.
Hedegaard, a well-known critic of Islam, established the Danish Free Press Society which says it aims to defend freedom of expression.
He was convicted of hate speech in 2011 after making remarks against Muslims and saying "girls in Muslim families are raped by their uncles, their cousins or their fathers" and fined 5,000 kroner (about $850).
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