[Pheddytrourry]

May 16, 2010
Arson suspect arrested

STOCKHOLM - POLICE arrested a suspect in an arson attack on the house of a Swedish cartoonist, who sparked controversy by drawing the Prophet Mohammed with the body of a dog, they said on Sunday. The 21-year-old Swedish national of Kosovar origin, from the southern city of Landskrona, was arrested late Saturday at his home, 40 kilometres from the house where cartoonist Lars Vilks lives. A police spokesman said he was detained after personal items were found near Vilks' house in the village of Nyhamnslaege, which was slightly damaged in the attack overnight on Friday.

'He is of Swedish nationality but originally from Kosovo ... He was unknown to the police so far,' Scania district police spokesman Calle Paersson told AFP. The suspect whose name was not made public 'is still being detained and expected to see a judge to decide whether or not he will be charged, possibly tomorrow' (Monday), said Mr Paersson. It was not immediately known whether the suspect had any accomplices. 'We'll see what he says,' he added. Police found glass bottles containing petrol (gasoline) inside Mr Vilks' house which was empty at the time of the attack, which came days after Mr Vilks was attacked while giving a lecture at Uppsala university.

Mr Vilks has told AFP he did not want to over-react to the attack but would take some precautions. 'I'll have to have a hide away for some time, which I think is reasonable... I can probably go in the house during daytime, but I'll have to sleep somewhere else. We have to see if it's possible to install an alarm or something.... I shouldn't be paranoid. This could be a one-time occasion,' he added. -- AFP