COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A Danish court convicted two Swedes of terrorism and attempted murder for detonating two hand grenades near the Israeli embassy in Copenhagen in October 2024.
The Copenhagen City Court sentenced the younger of the two men, aged 18, to 12 years in prison, and the older, aged 21, to 14 years in prison, according to Swedish news agency TT. They were said to be acting on behalf of a criminal gang.
In the early hours of Oct. 2, 2024, the pair threw two hand grenades in the direction of the Israeli embassy in the Danish capital. The devices did not reach their target but instead detonated on the terrace of a residential building nearby, inhabited by a family with children. Nobody was injured.
The explosions happened about 100 meters (109 yards) from the embassy, which is located in an area with other embassies, the local police said at the time. Copenhagen’s Jewish school, Carolineskolen, is located down the street from the embassy, but it was closed at the time of the attack.
The two men admitted to throwing the grenades but said they did it for money and denied being ideologically motivated to attack an Israeli institution.
The Danish court disagreed on whether the two should be convicted of terrorism, according to TT. Two judges and four jurors concluded that the Swedes were guilty of terrorism, while one judge and two jurors disagreed.
The younger of the two men is also facing charges in Sweden for an attack on the Israeli embassy in Stockholm, just one day before the Danish attack, according to TT. The older also faces criminal charges in connection with another attack in Sweden.
Lawyers for the two men said they would appeal the verdicts, which include deportation to Sweden in addition to the prison sentences.
Sweden has grappled with gang violence for years. Criminal gangs often recruit teenagers in socially disadvantaged immigrant neighborhoods to carry out hits. Two main gangs — the Foxtrot network and its rival Rumba — have been involved in deadly feuds.
