international
The Copenhagen Post cphpost.dk
13 - 19 January 2012
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Justin Cremer Overworked police bring in re-enforcements to deal with the spiralling gun crime
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ollowing the shooting death of a 48-year-old man last week on Tuesday, Malmö has now seen five gun-related killings in a span of just over five weeks. As a result, Malmö police are now appointing a special unit to deal with the rise in killings. “This is an exceptional situation with this many violent crimes,” county police chief Eva Årestad said on Tuesday, according to Sweden’s English-language news site, The Local. Malmö police will also request the assistance of Sweden’s National Bureau of Investigation (Rikskriminalen) as well as neighbouring police districts. Tuesday’s shooting death followed the murder of a 15-year-old boy on New Year’s Day. Police in that case say the motive may have been revenge for scaring a young girl with a firework. Prior to that, a 27-year-old man was shot to death on Boxing Day and a woman renovating a centrally-located café was shot and killed on December
The Malmö suburb of Rosengard, where a 15-year-old boy was shot and killed
20. On November 24, a 31-year-old suspected gang leader was killed. According to The Local, police point to the easy availability of illegal firearms as being behind the rash of shootings. Sven Granath, a criminologist at the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (Brottsförebyggande Rådet), told Politiken newspaper that Malmö’s location may also have something to do with it.
“It’s close to Denmark and the Øresund Bridge, where narcotics are smuggled,” Granath said. “It makes the battle for market share more intense. Malmö also has a large black market for services and goods, in which violent confrontation is not unusual.” The recent killings in Malmö bring to mind the period of October 2009 to October 2010, during which another long sequence of shootings spooked
city residents. During that time, an estimated 50 shootings occurred that targeted immigrants, killing at least three people. A 38-year-old man was arrested for the racially-motivated shootings on 19 charges of murder and attempted murder. Unlike the 2010 shootings, which targeted innocent citizens of immigrant descent, Malmö police say that most of the victims in the recent shootings were previously known to police. In response to the recent spate of shootings, Malmö residents took to the streets in protest last week on Friday. According to police estimates, upwards of 6,000 people gathered at Gustav Adolfs Plads for a demonstration that included speeches, music and the burning of candles. According to The Local, Friday’s protest was organised on Facebook in direct response to the 15-year-old’s death. One of the organisers was former Swedish MP Luciano Astudillo. Speaking to Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter, Astudillo said that Malmö is increasingly being viewed as a violent city. “[Malmö] is such a young city and people move here because they think that’s positive, but the violence denigrates that image and it frightens people,” he said.
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Bodies of two US hits Maersk with massive fine for false claims Aarhus women Shipping company reaches 180 million settlement with US Department found in Madeira kroner of Justice The women were experienced hikers, but apparently fell off a path
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ocal authorities in Madeira have confirmed that two corpses found there were those of two previously missing Aarhus women. Portuguese TV channel SIC Notícias reported that the two bodies found were 73-year-old Ulla Linnea Ruby and 77-year-old Amalie Kjerstine Flindt, who had been reported missing since last week on Sunday. Rescue crews found the bodies in a nature area on the island that was not easily accessible. A backpack believed to belong to one of the women was found on a hiking trail, leading rescuers to spot the bodies in an overgrown thicket 20 metres below. The two Danish women arrived in Madeira two weeks ago on Thursday and were reported missing on Sunday when hotel staff noticed they had not returned to their rooms. Both were described as experienced hikers and according to the travel agency Aarhus Charter, the weather in Madeira had been clear and dry the day they disappeared. (JC)
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he United States government has hit a subsidiary of shipping giant AP Moller Maersk with a 180 million kroner ($31.9 million) damages claim, the US Department of Justice has announced. Maersk Line has agreed to pay the compensation, which stems from having “knowingly overcharged” the US Defense Department to transport cargo to the US military in Afghanistan and Iraq, according to a release from the US Justice Department. The US government claims that Maersk overcharged in various ways, including over-billing for the operation of refrigerated containers at a port in Karachi, Pakistan; failing to account for cargo transit times and contractual grace periods when charging late fees; and billing for delivery delays improperly attributed to the United States. “This settlement should send a strong signal that the government is committed to safeguarding taxpayer funds by ensuring that contractors operate ethically and responsibly,” Melinda Haag, the US attorney for the north-
The US says Maersk Line submitted several false claims on invoices
ern district of California, said. The allegations against Maersk were filed by Jerry H Brown II, who is described by the US Department of Justice as “a former industry insider”. The settlement with Maersk was coordinated among several US justice and military agencies. “Our men and women in uniform overseas deserve the highest level of support provided by fair and honest contractors,” said Tony West, a Department of Justice spokesperson. “As the Justice
Department’s continuing efforts to fight procurement fraud demonstrate, those who put profits over the welfare of members of our military will pay a hefty price.” Maersk’s chief legal adviser, Christian Kledal, confirmed to news service Ritzau that the company had “made a mistake” but denied that the false claims amounted to “intentional fraud”. Kledal also said that Maersk did not anticipate the company’s relationship with the US military to be overly affected by the settlement. (JC)
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New rash of shooting deaths rocks Malmö again
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Authorities will now decide what to do with the 14 hostages (seen in bow) and captured pirates (stern)
Danish warship frees 14 hostages An investigation is underway to determine what happens next to the pirates and their former captives
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ow that a sea-borne rescue operation conducted by the Danish warship Absalon against pirates off the coast of Somalia has freed 14 Iranian and Pakistani hostages, the Navy are working to determine what should happen next. On Saturday, the Absalon, which is part of a NATO-led anti-piracy operation, pursued a craft it suspected of being a pirate mother ship off the Somali coast in the Indian Ocean. The pirates surrendered after a three-hour standoff, during which the Absalon fired warning shots and instructed the pirates to surrender. The 25 pirates and 14 hostages are currently being interviewed aboard the Absalon in an effort to establish what exactly happened onboard the captured vessel. “We are in the process of piecing together what happened”, said Navy commander Mikael Bill from the Søværnets Operative Kommando (SOK) . “We are questioning both the hostages and the pirates. The information we gather will help us decide the next steps.” Early reports indicate that the Iranian fishing boat was captured two months ago and that the 14 sailors onboard had been held captive since then. They expressed great relief at having been rescued and have made contact with their families. The captured pirates cannot be prosecuted under Danish law, but Denmark has agreements with Kenya and the Republic of Seychelles that would allow for the pirates to be tried in those countries. The Iranian vessel is seaworthy, and the hostages could use it to get home. “Having the hostages simply sail their ship home is possible, but it is still too early to say if that will happen,” Bill said. The Iranian vessel, one of the largest captured by a Danish warship in the battle against pirates, is currently being held alongside the Absalon. Somalia, which has been without a functional government since 1991, has become a home for pirates who launch attacks on ships off its coast. (RW)
Online this week City suspends parking enforcement after Christiania attack Following a brutal attack on parking wardens working near Christiania last week on Friday, the City Council has temporarily dropped parking patrols on the streets surrounding the area. “The safety of our employees is paramount. We will conduct a full investigation into this incident before sending parking wardens back into the area,” said Anders Møller, the council’s director of park-
ing enforcement. According to police, the wardens had just finished distributing parking tickets on Refshalevej on Friday evening when eight to ten men wielding clubs ran out of Christiania and attacked them. All three are in good condition and recovering, according to the council. The police were treating the incident as an isolated matter and have asked any witnesses to come forward.
Cutting child allowance for the wealthy under discussion
Majority support raising drinking age
Denmark’s ongoing financial struggles have members of the coalition government willing to discuss the idea of eliminating quarterly child allowance handouts (børnecheck) for the country’s wealthiest citizens. SF spokesperson Jesper Petersen said that changes should be considered, but declined to say what would constitute ‘rich’ under any new guidelines. He emphasised that no specific proposal for
A vast majority of Danes support raising the legal purchase age of alcohol to 18, according to a newly released poll. In an Epinion poll of 1,126 Danes conducted for Retail Institute Scandinavia, 73 percent said it was “a good idea” or “a very good idea” to forbid the sale of alcohol to individuals aged under 18. Sharing that opinion was the
eliminating the børnecheck has been made, but said that nothing should be considered off limits when the country is facing such difficult economic challenges. PM Helle Thorning-Schmidt (Socialdemokraterne) also expressed an openness to eliminating the child support allowance for the wealthiest families, as did coalition partners Radikale, and opposition parties Konservative and Dansk Folkeparti.
health minister, Astrid Krag of the Socialistisk Folkeparti (SF). “Danes’ high alcohol consumption is to blame for poor health and a lower life span, and especially among the younger population we have a problem that we must tackle,” Krag told Berlingske newspaper. “I believe that the age limit is one of the things we should adjust.”
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