The cartoon sparked a wave of anger among Muslims worldwide at the time. He was regularly threatened with death. Westergaard was on the death list of the terrorist group al-Qaida and was continuously monitored.
In 2015, a writers’ club withdrew from a meeting in Amsterdam about freedom of expression because the Dane was the main guest there.
Danish intelligence revealed in 2008 that three men had been plotting murder. In 2010, Westergaard was attacked in his home. A Somali broke into his home with an axe. He managed to lock himself in the secured bathroom and survived the attack. The perpetrator was sentenced to ten years in prison.
Westergaard had been ill for some time, various media report. He was 86 years old and leaves behind a wife and five children. “After a long illness he fell asleep peacefully”, writes the newspaper which he worked for for many years.
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