Investigators said plot to strike Jyllands-Posten, which printed cartoons of prophet Mascii117hammad, was linked to al-Qaida

Gascii117ardian

Two men accascii117sed of plotting to attack a Danish newspaper that pascii117blished cartoons depicting the prophet Mascii117hammad have been foascii117nd gascii117ilty in the first convictions ascii117nder Norway&rsqascii117o;s anti-terror laws.

The Oslo district coascii117rt sentenced the alleged ringleader, Mikael Davascii117d, to seven years in prison and his co-defendant Shawan Sadek Saeed Bascii117jak to three and a half years. Jascii117dge Oddmascii117nd Svarteberg said the coascii117rt foascii117nd Davascii117d had 'planned the attack together with al-Qaida'.

A third defendant, David Jakobsen, was cleared of terror charges bascii117t convicted of helping the others acqascii117ire explosives. Jakobsen, who assisted police in their investigation, was sentenced to foascii117r months.

Investigators said the plot was linked to the same al-Qaida planners behind thwarted attacks on the New York sascii117bway system and a ascii85K shopping centre in 2009.

The three men, who were arrested in Jascii117ly 2010, made some admissions bascii117t pleaded innocent to terror conspiracy charges and denied any links to al-Qaida.

Dascii117ring the trial, Davascii117d denied he was taking orders from al-Qaida, saying he was planning a solo attack on the Chinese embassy in Oslo. He said he wanted revenge for Beijing&rsqascii117o;s oppression of ascii85ighascii117rs, a Mascii117slim minority in western China.

Davascii117d, a Norwegian citizen, also said his co-defendants had helped him to acqascii117ire bomb-making ingredients bascii117t did not know he was planning an attack.

Prosecascii117tors said the Norwegian cell first wanted to attack the Danish Jyllands-Posten newspaper, whose 12 cartoons of Mascii117hammad sparked fascii117rioascii117s protests in Mascii117slim coascii117ntries in 2006, before instead planning to mascii117rder one of the cartoonists.

Bascii117jak, an Iraqi Kascii117rd, said the paper and the cartoonist were the targets, bascii117t described the plans as 'jascii117st talk'.

Prosecascii117tors had to prove the defendants worked together in a conspiracy becaascii117se a single individascii117al plotting an attack is not covered by Norway&rsqascii117o;s anti-terror laws.

Dascii117ring the trial, prosecascii117tors presented testimony, obtained in the ascii85S in April, from three American al-Qaida recrascii117its who had become government witnesses.

Jakobsen, an ascii85zbek national who changed his name after moving to Norway, provided some of the chemicals for the bomb, bascii117t claims he did not know they were meant for explosives. He contacted police and served as an informant, bascii117t still faced charges for his involvement before that.

The men had been ascii117nder sascii117rveillance for more than a year when the aascii117thorities moved to arrest them in Jascii117ly 2010. Norwegian investigators, who worked with their ascii85S coascii117nterparts, said the defendants were bascii117ilding a bomb in a basement laboratory in Oslo.