Danish vandalize Muslim graves
2006-02-13 10:30
Copenhagen - About 25 Muslim graves were vandalized at a cemetery in western Denmark, police said on Sunday, and the prime minister quickly condemned the attack.
The vandals pushed over headstones and smashed several of them into pieces at the cemetery in Esbjerg, Denmark's fifth biggest city, said Anders Hansen, a spokesperson for the local police.
"We don't know who did this," Hansen said, adding the attack probably happened late on Saturday or early on Sunday.
The cemetery has both Christian and Muslim graves, but only the Muslim graves were desecrated, he said.
The attack came at a sensitive time, with outrage sweeping the Muslim world over Prophet Muhammad cartoons published in a Danish newspaper.
"I strongly condemn this disgraceful act and deeply regret that Muslim graves have been desecrated," Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in a statement, adding he denounces every act aimed at offending people because of their religious or ethnic background.
"Vandalism against cemeteries is a criminal act and authorities will take the necessary steps to find those responsible and bring them to justice," he said.
- AP