Denmark files terrorism charge against 16-year-old girl

From the Danish edition of The Local

A 16-year-old Danish girl who was arrested in January 2016 for possessing explosives that she planned to use to bomb two schools will be the first female in Denmark’s history to be charged with terrorism.

Much of the case against the teenager has been kept secret over the past year since her arrest in the village of Kundby on the island of Zealand. Her court appearances have been held behind so-called ‘double-locked doors’, meaning all information is withheld from the media and the public. 

But on Friday the Copenhagen Public Prosecutor Office announced that the 16-year-old girl will be charged with an attempted terror attack for her plans to bomb the private Jewish school Carolineskolen in Copenhagen and her own school, Sydskolen in Fårevejle. 

“The 16-year-old was, according to the indicted, far along in her preparations to bomb two schools. She is charged with having made preparations to make a bomb and for having planned a test explosion,” public prosecutor Lise-Lotte Nilas said. “The prosecuting authority is therefore presenting a criminal case against her under the penal code’s provisions on terror,” she added. 

According to numerous media reports, this marks the first time that a woman will be charged of violating Denmark’s terror laws. Prosecutors also announced on Friday that a 25-year-old man who was also arrested and detained in connection to the case has been released and that he will face no charges. 

The 16-year-old girl has been described as a recent convert to Islam and one of her neighbours told the tabloid BT that her Facebook page indicated that she wanted to convert other Danes to the religion. TV2 also reported that the girl’s profile page indicated that she was a member of Facebook group for ethnic Danish members of Hizb ut-Tahrir, an Islamic group that openly supports the establishment of a caliphate and that has been at the centre of numerous controversies in Denmark.

A trial will begin on April 7th in Holbæk and the 16-year-old faces a minimum four-year sentence if found guilty.