Mohammed book attack: trio in court

Three men are due to appear in court charged with conspiring to damage the home of a man who published a controversial novel about the prophet Mohammed.

The Metropolitan Police charged Ali Beheshti, 40, of Tavistock Gardens, Ilford, Abrar Mirza, 22, of Eastfield Road, London, and Abbas Taj, 30, of Forest Gate, London, on Thursday night.

The charges follow a suspected petrol bomb attack at 47 Lonsdale Square, Islington, north London, in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The men are charged with conspiring without lawful excuse to damage the premises between September 8 and 27, intending to destroy or damage property with intent to endanger life, and "being reckless as to whether the life of another would thereby be endangered".

Beheshti was further charged with "possession of a weapon designed or adapted for the discharge of a noxious liquid or gas contrary to the Firearms Act", police said.

The men were remanded in custody and will appear at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court.

The property in question is the home and office of Martin Rynja, the director of Gibson Square, an independent publishing house which announced earlier this month it was planning to release the novel The Jewel of the Medina in the UK.

The novel, by American author Sherry Jones, was pulled by publishers in the US over fears it would anger Muslims, while a publisher in Serbia withdrew it from the shelves after protests from local Islamic leaders, who said it insulted Mohammed and his family.

Announcing the publication of the novel last month, 44-year-old Mr Rynja said he felt such books were an important part of a liberal democracy.