Danish appeals court to review 9.5 million kroner compensation award

Denmark’s Eastern High Court will review a ruling that awarded five men more than 9.5 million kroner in compensation for wrongful pre-trial detention, DR reports. The State Prosecutor in Copenhagen has appealed the award, seeking to have the claims dismissed in full.

The men had been sentenced to life in prison in a case involving attempted killings in a gang conflict, but were later acquitted. Glostrup District Court awarded each between 1,436,900 and 2,443,043.44 kroner on 29 October.

The five had been accused of trying to kill members of the rival Loyal To Familia gang during incidents in May 2020. A car was fitted with a GPS device, and 26 shots were fired at it in Måløv. Six bullets hit the vehicle, but neither of the two men inside was injured.

Six men were ultimately acquitted in the case, while a seventh was convicted of one attempted murder. The man, who was 25 at the time and Swedish, was sentenced to 14 years in prison. The five men had spent years in pre-trial detention before the Eastern High Court overturned their life sentences and released them. One man’s lawyer, Thomas Brædder, said his client had been detained for three years and four months.

The compensation awards carry interest from the dates the claims were filed nearly three years ago. By the District Court’s ruling, that interest added three million kroner to the total. The men will not receive payment unless the Eastern High Court upholds the award.

According to figures from the National Police, 50.4 million kroner was paid to people for wrongful imprisonment last year. A further 31.4 million kroner had been paid by 25 September this year.