Denmark:Racists assault refugees
01 January 1991
Denmark:Racists assault refugees
artdoc April=1993
Three Danish men have appeared in court accused of a vicious
attack on two teenage asylum-seekers from the former Yugoslavia.
The assault occurred after the three Danes visited an asylum
centre near Ulfborg in mid-Jutland and persuaded the two
teenagers, aged 16 and 17, to accompany them to a disco.But once
the youths entered the car belonging to the Danish men, the Danes
drove them off to another destination, assaulted them and
threatened to kill them. In court, one of the accused justified
his actions by saying that he was against Yugoslavians coming to
Denmark and sponging off society (Jyllands-Posten 24.2.93).
Legal decision confirms Danish Association `racist'
A libel court has ruled that it is well within the law to refer
to the Danish Association's `racist tendencies'.
The Danish Association (DA), which is well-known for its
anti-immigrant stance, had taken a libel action against Jens
Sejersen, an active member of the People's Movement against
Nazism and Racism, following Sejersen's remark that the Danish
Association was `known for its racist and misanthropic
tendencies'.
Sejersen also linked the Danish Association to nazism.But
whereas the court found no grounds to link the DA to the
extreme-right, it discharged Sejersen on this account on the
grounds that former members of the DA have had nazi connections.
Following the libel action against him, Sejerson had taken an
unsuccessful libel action against the DA's magazine. In
Danskeren, the DA had said that `in private company' Sejersen has
declared `that he is a cynical manipulator of the press, does not
care about our constitution and, if necessary would use violence
to achieve his objectives' (Politiken 23.2.93, Jyllands-Posten
26.2.93).
Police
A Copenhagen police assistant has been reprimanded following an
incident in which he drove a Moroccan man, who had earlier been
arrested on a minor charge, to a deserted area in the early hours
of a December morning and left him there. A police statement
expressed regret over the incident (Jyllands-Posten 26.2.93).
Racism fascism EC Europe
IRR European Race Audit no 3, 1993.
Contact: Liz Fekete, Institute of Race Relations,
2-6 Leeke Street, London WC1X 9HS. Tel: ++ 071 837 0041