Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard, who in 2005 portrayed the Prophet Mohammed wearing a bomb in his turban, received the M100 Media Prize in Germany Wednesday.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel praised the bravery of a Danish cartoonist at an award ceremony honoring his achievements for freedom of speech.

In her speech praising illustrator Kurt Westergaard, "who has had to fear for his life since the publication of the cartoons in 2005," Merkel emphasized Wednesday that media freedom is an important element of rights in Europe.

"It does not matter if we think his cartoons are tasteful or not, if we think they are necessary and helping or not," Merkel said at the ceremony in the city of Potsdam. The question, she said, was, "Is he allowed to do this? Yes, he is."

There have been at least three attempted attacks on the 75-year-old Westergaard or his newspaper, the Danish the Jyllands-Posten, since he and 11 other artists angered Muslims around the world by creating the Muhammad cartoons four years ago. Protesters in Muslim countries have torched Danish and other Western embassies.

Westergaard's cartoon, which he said took 45 minutes to draw, was considered by many Muslims the most offensive of the 12. He has rejected calls to apologize, saying poking fun at religious symbols is protected by Denmark's freedom of speech.

Westergaard has been under police protection since February 2008, when Danish newspapers reprinted his caricature in a gesture of solidarity after police revealed a plot to kill him. In January, a Somali with a residence permit in Denmark broke into Westergaard's home wielding an ax and a knife, but Westergaard was unhurt, The Associated Press reported.