A 21-year-old man who was on Tuesday charged for terror after setting fire to an address in Copenhagen where a Jewish woman lived has links to the organised crime group Loyal to Familia (LTF), police intelligence agency PET told national broadcaster DR.
The proceedings at Copenhagen City Court took place behind closed doors on the judge’s order, meaning details of the case are sparse and the identities of both the accused and the victim are withheld. The incident is reported to have happened in May.
However, police intelligence agency PET later stated that the accused had a “relation” to the banned crime gang LTF.
PET chief Finn Borch Andersen told DR it was “concerning” that the gang, which is primarily associated with crimes including weapons offences and drug dealing, now appeared to have attached itself to terrorism.
“PET has long warned of an increased terrorist threat against Jewish and Israeli targets in Denmark, especially in light of the conflict in Israel and Gaza. Due to the ongoing investigation, there are limits to what I can say about the case,” Andersen said.
“But it is a serious matter if a person in Denmark is targeted for terrorism because of their Jewish background. It is also concerning that we are again seeing connections to LTF in terrorism cases,” he added.
The use of the word “again” in Andersen’s comments appears to refer to a case from late last year in which police arrested several people in anti-terror raids and said there were links to LTF.
That case is still being ongoing and is also proceeding behind closed doors, but media have reported a link to Palestinian militant group Hamas, based on a statement made by a prosecutor during a court meeting.
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The terror threat level in Denmark remains classified as ‘serious’ or alvorlig in Danish, which is the second highest of five levels. The case involving the arson attack does not change this, according to the head of PET, who stressed that people in Denmark “should continue living their lives as usual."
"We are closely monitoring the situation and will continually implement the security measures we deem necessary and relevant. In this regard, we will maintain close dialogue with the Jewish community about the current situation and the security measures that can enhance safety," Andersen said to DR.
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