Cartoon Row Claims Swedish Minister's Job

The row about cartoons of the prophet Muhammad yesterday claimed the career of Sweden's foreign minister, who resigned after allegations that she shut down a far-right website for soliciting new caricatures. Laila Freivalds, who succeeded the popular Anna Lindh after she was stabbed to death in 2003, said she could no longer continue in the face of intense media criticism.

Opponents said Ms Freivalds, 63, broke Sweden's strict freedom of speech laws when her department allegedly took steps to close down a website that was trying to publish fresh cartoons of Muhammad.

The site was closed on February 9 after a foreign ministry official contacted the firm that hosted the website. No orders were issued to the company, according to the ministry, which said the official had merely pointed out that the website was endangering the lives of Swedes.

The website took the step of soliciting cartoons at the height of protests across the Muslim world against a Danish newspaper which ran cartoons of Muhammad last September. Any depiction of the prophet is offensive to Muslims.

Ms Freivalds insisted she did not order the official to contact the web company. But opposition politicians accused her of lying after a foreign ministry report said she was involved in the decision.

"The reason I have decided to request my dismissal is that it is impossible to carry out a serious job, and that is damaging for the government, the party and not least for the foreign ministry," she said.