Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

CRIME

Dane accused of mutilating women in South Africa faces jail

A Danish man accused of mutilating women in South Africa and storing their genitals in his freezer has been convicted of dozens of charges.

Published: 7 November 2017 16:12 CET
Dane accused of mutilating women in South Africa faces jail
Frederiksen on trial in Bloemfontain in 2015. Photo: Gianluigi Guercia/AFP/Scanpix

Peter Frederiksen was found guilty of 36 offences in the Free State High Court on Monday including producing child pornography, raping a minor and conspiracy to murder, local media reported.

Frederiksen, a gun shop owner in his 60s, pleaded not guilty to all charges. He will be sentenced at a later hearing.

Twenty charges related to the removal of human tissue were dropped as the court found that the law did not clearly specify what penalties should apply for the alleged crimes.

Police discovered more than 10 pieces of frozen female genitalia at Frederiksen's Bloemfontein townhouse in September 2015.

His wife, 28-year-old Anna Matseliso Molise, was set to be the state's key witness but she was gunned down in October 2015 outside her house in Maseru, capital of neighbouring Lesotho.

South Africa has legislation prohibiting female circumcision, although it is not a common practise in the country.

READ ALSO: Danish female mutilation suspect denied bail

CRIME

Kosovo ratifies deal on renting prison cells to Denmark

Legislators in Kosovo on Thursday ratified an agreement signed with Denmark to rent the Scandinavian country 300 prison cells to help ease overcrowding in the kingdom's penitentiaries.

Published: 23 May 2024 16:38 CEST
Kosovo ratifies deal on renting prison cells to Denmark

Under the deal Kosovo will be paid around 200 million euros ($220 million) over the next decade, with the funds helping improve the government’s correctional institutions and finance renewable energy projects.

Prisoners convicted of terrorism and war crimes in Denmark along with those diagnosed with mental illness will not be sent to Kosovo, according to the agreement.

“Eighty six have supported it, seven against and there were no abstentions, and one deputy did not participate in the vote at all”, said parliamentary speaker Glauk Konjufca following the vote in the 120-strong parliament.

Denmark’s justice ministry also confirmed the approval of the agreement.

“This is crucial for us to secure more Danish prison places and will help bring our hard-pressed prison system back into balance,” said Denmark’s justice minister Peter Hummelgaard in a statement.

The future inmates will be sent to a prison in Gjilan town — about 50 kilometres (30 miles) from Kosovo’s capital Pristina.

The foreign prisoners will be deported after serving their sentence.

The prison population in Denmark surged by nearly 20 percent since 2015 and reached more than 4,000 people by the start of 2021 — putting the occupation rate above 100 percent, according to official data.

During the same period, the number of guards fell by 18 percent.

Previously Norway and Belgium have rented prison cells in the Netherlands.

SHOW COMMENTS