The trial of a 29 year old Somali man accused of attempted murder against the Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard of Mohammed opened Wednesday just before 9:30 am (0830 GMT) in the court of Aarhus (center), noted AFP.
The hearing of the trial court was transferred into the premises of the Court of Appeal because of the busy media, surrounded by extraordinary security measures with police dogs and metal detectors.
Geele Mohamed, whose name was revealed for the first time publicly at the hearing, had burst a year ago at night in the house of the cartoonist, armed with a hatchet and a knife, shouting that he wanted kill him, according to the testimony of the draftsman.
"My client admits only possession of knives and intrusion into people's property," he said at the hearing counsel for the Somali, Mr. Niels Strauss.
Kurt Westergaard, 75 years old today, had been spared by hiding in her bathroom, before the police stop a suspect after having wounded twice.
The Somali, who has denied the charges since his arrest on the evening of 1 January 2010, faces life in prison.He is charged with attempted murder and terrorism as well as assaulting a police officer and illegal possession of weapons.
According to the Danish intelligence service, he was close to Somalia's Islamist al-Shabab and leaders of Al Qaeda in East Africa.
Nine days of hearings are scheduled and the verdict is expected around the first week of February.
