COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A 21-year-old man in Denmark was arrested on Tuesday for arson after allegedly setting a fire at a Jewish woman’s home in Copenhagen, and he faced preliminary court charges under the country’s terrorism laws that could lead to a life sentence.
Preliminary charges are one step short of formal charges and allow authorities to detain suspects during an investigation. A life sentence in Denmark usually means 16 years in prison.
The man and several other suspects who were not identified allegedly set fire to balcony furniture at the woman’s house on May 29. The blaze spread but was put out by firefighters, Danish media said, and no one was injured.
Under a court order, neither the suspect nor the victim can be named.
Danish media present at the court hearing said the man pleaded not guilty through his defense attorney. No further details were available because the rest of the hearing was held behind closed doors.
The Danish Security and Intelligence Service said in a statement the suspect was related to Loyal to Familia, a predominantly immigrant gang in Denmark that was banned in 2021.
“It is serious if a person in Denmark becomes a target of terror because of the person’s Jewish background. It is also worrying that we again see links to LTF in terrorist cases,” said Finn Borch Andersen, the head of the security agency.
In December, Denmark and Germany announced the arrests of several terror suspects, including alleged Hamas members, suspected of plotting attacks on Jews and Jewish institutions in Europe over the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. The announcements were issued separately.
Danish police then said three people were arrested in Denmark who were “related to criminal gangs” and singled out the banned, predominantly immigrant gang Loyal to Familia, which had long been behind feuds, violence, robberies, extortion and drug sales in the Danish capital.
“It is too early to assess whether it is an isolated case or a broader development in the terrorist threat,” Borch Andersen said of Monday’s arrest.
The Jewish Community in Denmark, in a separate statement, described the attack as “terrifying … even if no one was injured.”
The security agency has warned of an “intensified terrorist threat against Jewish and Israeli targets in Denmark, especially in light of the conflict in Israel and Gaza,” Borch Andersen said.
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