Two arrested for burning effigy of Denmark’s premier Mette Frederiksen at coronavirus protest
- Five other protesters were briefly detained following unrest and clashes with police after the main demonstration
- The protest was staged by a group called Men in Black, which opposes the government‘s measures to stem the coronavirus
Two men have been arrested on suspicion of threatening Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen after a weekend protest against coronavirus restrictions turned violent, police said on Sunday.
An effigy of Frederiksen was hung from a lamp post and set alight at the protest in Copenhagen on Saturday evening. A sign with the words “She must and should be killed” hung from the effigy, police said.
The two suspects, aged 30 and 34, were to face a pre-trial custody hearing, according to police.
Five other protesters were briefly detained on Saturday following unrest and clashes with police, after the main event of the demonstration had ended.
The protest was staged by a group called Men in Black, which opposes the government's measures to stem the coronavirus.
The violence and burning of the effigy was widely condemned by leading politicians, including Soren Pape Poulsen, leader of the opposition Conservatives, and Pia Kjaersgaard, former leader of the populist right-wing Danish People's Party.
“Has nothing to do with a demonstration! It's as un-Danish as anything!” Kjaersgaard, who was the former parliamentary speaker, tweeted.
Justice Minister Nick Haekkerup of Frederiksen's governing Social Democrats said there is a right to protest peacefully, but pledged police would apprehend those responsible for the violence.
