PET says 81 people convicted in 54 Danish terror cases

Denmark has convicted 81 people in 54 terrorism-related cases since 2007, according to figures from the Danish Security and Intelligence Service, PET, obtained by DR. The cases were recorded between the September 11, 2001 attacks and July 8, 2026.

Some involved plans for terrorist attacks in Denmark, while others concerned people who had travelled to conflict zones, promoted Islamic State or supported terrorist organisations. Not all of the convictions are final, as some cases remain under appeal.

“Fortunately, over the past many years we have prevented a number of terrorist attacks in Denmark, and many people have been convicted of supporting or planning terrorism,” Flemming Drejer, PET’s operational chief, told DR in a written statement.

Among the cases still under appeal is the conviction of two Swedish men, aged 18 and 21, who were sentenced in February to 12 and 14 years in prison for terrorism in Denmark. They threw grenades at the Israeli embassy in Hellerup. No one was injured.

A more complex threat

The September 11 attacks, in which two planes crashed into New York’s World Trade Center and killed several thousand people, marked a new security situation worldwide. European capitals were also targeted by carefully planned Islamist attacks during the 2000s, including attacks in Madrid in 2004 and London in 2005.

Denmark has not experienced large-scale attacks apart from the 2015 attacks at Krudttønden and a synagogue, PET says. Two people were killed in the attacks in Copenhagen.

Flemming Drejer said the nature of the terrorist threat has changed over the past 25 years. Large attacks planned by al-Qaeda and Islamic State were seen in the past, while the threat now often comes from individuals or small groups acting independently.

That makes attacks more difficult to predict and prevent, he said. One example was Omar El-Hussein, who carried out the 2015 attacks at Krudttønden and the Jewish synagogue in Copenhagen after becoming radicalised in the months beforehand and acting alone.

More radicalisation online

Drejer described today’s terrorist threat as more “complex and unpredictable”, partly because of how radicalisation takes place. A large proportion of radicalisation occurs online, particularly among very young people and minors, he said.

He added that individuals are not always driven by a clear ideology or cause, while states such as Iran and criminal networks are also more involved in terrorism, in some cases in Denmark.

The development is challenging intelligence and security services because monitoring threats in the physical world is no longer enough. PET’s experience in counterterrorism has prepared it to address more complex threats, Drejer said, but following developments online requires new methods and tools to identify threats before they become reality.