The chairman of the Freedom of the Press Society, Lars Hedegaard, has been charged with making racist remarks by the Public Prosecutor for Copenhagen.
The charge comes after Hedegaard on the blog site Snaphanen in December 2009 described rape as common in Muslim families, especially girls by their uncles, cousins or fathers. Hedegaard told Jyllands Posten newspaper that he had was not worried about the charge but was interested to see how the situation will play out. In a press release published later he stated that his statement did not cover all Muslims, but was a critique of Islam in general. Despite the change in comment, though, the Public Prosecutor has chosen to stand by the charge. Asked if he regretted the comment, Hedegaard said the only thing he regretted was the misunderstanding, but that he hoped for an opportunity to rectify this. The charges prompted Hedegaard to leave the Danish People’s Party in order to avoid having his comments reflect negatively on the nationalist political party. Following Hedegaard’s comments, numerous prominent members left the society. Liberal politician Søren Pind and the Conservative Naser Khader have both left and vicar and speaker Kathrine Lilleør said that she was thrown out of the society after not supporting the chairman. The hearing is scheduled for 24 January.
Copenhagen Post
