Swedish artist Lars Vilks, known for his drawing of the Prophet Muhammad, takes part in the freedom of speech discussion in Helsinki on April 14, 2015. [Reuters]
Swedish artist Lars Vilks, who stirred worldwide controversy in 2007 with drawings depicting the Prophet Mohammad with the body of a dog, was killed in a car crash near the southern town of Markaryd on Sunday, police said.
Vilks, 75, who had been living under police protection since the drawings were published, was travelling in a police vehicle that collided with a truck. Two police officers were also killed.
A view of a scene after an accident between a car and a lorry in which three people died, including Swedish artist Lars Vilks, outside the town Markaryd in Sweden on October 3, 2021. [Reuters]
"This is a very tragic incident. It is now important to all of us that we do everything we can to investigate what happened and what caused the collision," Swedish police said in a statement on Monday.
"Initially, there is nothing that points to anyone else being involved."
