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Denmark jails man for defacing gravestones with 'number of the beast'

Ritzau/The Local
Ritzau/The Local - [email protected]
Denmark jails man for defacing gravestones with 'number of the beast'
Photo: Henning Bagger / Ritzau Scanpix

A high court in Denmark has decided to keep a man in police custody for defacing gravestones with the number 666.

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The 46-year-old man who committed the act of vandalism at the churchyard in Hadsund will now be remanded in custody, the North Jutland Police prosecution service confirmed.

Thursday’s decision by the Vestre Landsret court takes the opposite position to an earlier district court ruling which decided against extending the man’s detainment.

He was arrested on Wednesday and subsequently appeared at preliminary court proceedings after painting the number 666 on 80 gravestones at the church. The vandalism was discovered by church staff on Sunday.

He has a previous charge for a similar incident at Visborg in 2016, although that case is yet to be concluded.

“It’s no secret we had our suspicions about him [due to the previous case, ed.]. And based on witness statements in the area, we think there is cause for preliminary charge,” lead investigator Sune Myrup told Ritzau on Wednesday.

The 46-year-old faces charges of gross vandalism under Denmark’s criminal law.

The number 666 is described in chapter 13 of the Book of Revelation in the Bible as the "number of the Beast" and is considered a symbol of the devil.

Although the city court in Aalborg decided to free the man on Wednesday, that decision has now been overturned by the higher court following an appeal by the prosecution service.

READ ALSO: Denmark's Little Mermaid turns blue and white after latest vandalism

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