Denmark
Denmark has detailed terrorism legislation in its Criminal Code. Two new laws entered into force in 2022 further criminalize support to terrorism and also give the Danish Intelligence Police (PET) increased surveillance powers and access to personal data from public authorities, regardless of the existence of a specific suspect and without possibility of judicial review.
The Definition of Terrorism in Domestic Law
The Criminal Code of Denmark defines terrorism in its Section 114.
Any person who, by acting with the intent to frighten a population to a serious degree or to unlawfully coerce Danish or foreign public authorities or an international organisation to carry out or omit to carry out an act or to destabilize or destroy a country’s or an international organisation’s fundamental political, constitutional, financial or social structures, commits one or more of the following acts, when the act due to its nature or the context, in which it is committed, can inflict on a country or an international organisation serious damage, shall be guilty of terrorism....S. 114(1), Criminal Code of Denmark.
Adherence to Global and Regional Terrorism Treaties
Denmark is a State Party to all of the main United Nations treaties on terrorism.
| Treaty | Adherence |
|---|---|
| 1973 Convention on Crimes against Internationally Protected Persons | State Party |
| 1979 Hostage-Taking Convention | State Party |
| 1997 Terrorist Bombings Convention | State Party |
| 1999 Terrorist Financing Convention | State Party |
| 2005 Nuclear Terrorism Convention | State Party |
The 1997 Terrorist Bombings Convention and the 1999 Terrorist Financing Convention do not apply to the Faroe Islands and Greenland.
Denmark is also a State Party to the European treaties on terrorism.
| Treaty | Adherence |
|---|---|
| 1977 European Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism | State Party |
| 2003 Protocol amending the European Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism | State Party |
| 2005 Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism | State Party |
| 2015 Additional Protocol to the Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism | State Party |
Laws and Penalties for Terrorist Offences
The maximum penalty for terrorist offences under Danish law is life imprisonment. A series of predicate offences for terrorism are set out in the Criminal Code.S. 114(1), Criminal Code of Denmark.
In July 2020, Danish courts sentenced Swedish citizens Zacharias Tamer Hamzi and Nurettin Nuray Syuleyman to five years and four years in prison, respectively, for bombing the Danish Tax Agency in 2019.
Counterterrorism Capacities and Policies at Domestic Level
The Danish Police has a dedicated counterterrorism unit, the Politiets Aktionsstyrke.
Glossary
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