Danish court gives 16-year-old five years in prison after terror conviction

The district court in Danish town Holbæk on Thursday sentenced a 16-year-old boy to five and a half years in prison after he was found guilty of trying to recruit a friend to a Neo-Nazi organisation.

Published: 11 May 2023 16:18 CEST

Danish court gives 16-year-old five years in prison after terror conviction

A court in Holbæk has sentenced a 16-year-old to over five year in prison after he was found guilty of terror offences. File photo: Signe Goldmann/Ritzau Scanpix

The boy was found guilty on a number of charges under Denmark’s criminal paragraph 114, also known as the “terror paragraph”. He was found not guilty of other charges in the trial.

Because Denmark’s age of criminal responsibility is 15, he can be sentenced as an adult.

He was convicted of trying to recruit a friend to the far-right extremist group Feuerkrieg Division, but found not guilty of joining the group himself with the intention of committing an act of terror.

Although he is a member of the extremist group, the court did not find it proven that he joined with the intent of committing one or more acts of terror.

In addition to the attempt to recruit a friend, he was found guilty of distributing bomb and weapons manuals and other extremist material via the Telegram messaging app.

He also guided others on organisation within the group and assisted in writing a pamphlet about Feuerkrieg Division, the court found.

The five-and-a-half year sentence is longer than the five years argued for by the state prosecutor during the trial.

“It says something about the seriousness of this case that he has got five and a half years in prison even though he did these things as a 15-year-old. I think it’s a clear verdict,” special prosecutor Rune Rydik said after the sentence was pronounced.

His defence lawyer Lasse Martin Dueholm argued for no more than two years in prison or “the court’s mildest sentence”. The defence, prosecution and court all cited the boy’s age as a mitigating factor.

He was arrested in April 2022 when police searched his bedroom at his parents’ home in western Zealand. Officers found a Feuerkrieg Division flag, a flag and armband with Nazi symbols and a copy of the manifest Mein Kampf, written by Adolf Hitler in the 1920s.

His mother was present for the verdict and sentencing at Holbæk District Court on Thursday. He denied guilt on all charges throughout the trial and has chosen to appeal the verdict, Dueholm confirmed. He hopes to be acquitted or given a milder sentence at a high court appeal, the lawyer said.

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The 39-year-old Polish man is suspected of punching Frederiksen on June 7th as she walked in central Copenhagen, leaving her with a minor whiplash injury.

“The court has decided that the suspect will remain in custody until July 4th,” a court official told AFP, following a hearing that lasted less than an hour.

The man, who was arrested immediately after the incident, has denied responsibility and says he has no recollection of what happened.

Frederiksen, 46, underwent a medical examination afterwards and was diagnosed with a “contusion on her right shoulder and a minor whiplash injury”, according to her office.

A medical certificate was presented to the court on Thursday.

Frederiksen and several witnesses have been questioned in the ongoing investigation, police said.

In police questioning, relayed to the court on Thursday, Frederiksen said the man approached her and uttered something incomprehensible, then hit her on the shoulder with a closed fist, Danish news agency Ritzau reported on Thursday.

According to prosecutor Line Steffensen, the man was drunk and had stolen alcohol from a grocery store just prior to his encounter with the prime minister.

Steffensen said the man had been arrested on several occasions for shoplifting since moving to Denmark five years ago.

Frederiksen became Denmark’s youngest ever prime minister when she was elected in 2019, aged 41. She won re-election in 2022.

She said after the attack that she was “shaken” and did not take part in the final day of campaigning for the EU election.