Reporters Without Borders Annual Report 2006 - Denmark
| Publisher | Reporters Without Borders |
| Publication Date | 3 May 2006 |
| Cite as | Reporters Without Borders, Reporters Without Borders Annual Report 2006 - Denmark, 3 May 2006, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/46e690b4a.html [accessed 2 November 2019] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Denmark has one of the world's best records for press freedom and came first in the Reporters Without Borders worldwide index in 2005. This freedom extended to the September 2005 publication by the country's biggest daily paper, Jyllands Posten, of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, setting off strong reaction in the local Muslim community and, in early 2006, in majority Muslim countries, where depicting Mohammed is forbidden.
A paper in Egypt reprinted the cartoons without penalty however in October. But two Jyllands Posten cartoonists received death threats that month. Editor Carsten Juste hired security guards to protect them and they were forced to go into temporary hiding.
The cartoons row had unexpectedly big consequences – a major crisis between Denmark and the Arab/Muslim world in 2006 and stormy debates in Europe about freedom of expression.
