Terrorism
Acts under § 114 of the Danish Penal Code, punishable by life imprisonment
Terrorism, in Danish criminal law, denotes acts committed with the intent to seriously frighten a population, to compel public authorities or an international organisation to act or refrain from acting, or to destabilise or destroy a country's or an organisation's fundamental political, constitutional, economic or social structures. Under Danish law, terrorism is governed by the Danish Penal Code (straffeloven) § 114. The provision sets out a dual requirement: the act must be one of the specifically listed offences — for example homicide, aggravated violence, deprivation of liberty or destruction of infrastructure — and it must be committed with one of the stated terrorist intents. The penalty may be imprisonment for life, reflecting the legislature's assessment of the extraordinary gravity of terrorism and its harmful effect on society.
The concept differs from ordinary crime through the ideological or political motive, and through the fact that the acts are directed at a collective or at a social order rather than at specific individuals alone. It is precisely this element that characterises the acts described in cases such as the bombings in London on 7 July 2005, the terrorist attack in Paris in November 2015 and the destruction of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie in 1988 — all attacks involving mass casualties and a pronounced political or ideological dimension.
In a broader criminal and security context, the term is used for coordinated attacks, suicide bombings, aircraft hijackings and other forms of politically motivated mass violence, regardless of whether the perpetrators act as part of a loosely organised movement or a structured organisation such as ISIS. Common to these cases is that they aim to generate fear and political pressure beyond the immediate physical harm. Danish terrorism legislation has been expanded continuously since the turn of the millennium, partly as a result of international obligations and UN resolutions, and today also covers preparatory acts, the financing of terrorism and participation in terrorist organisations.
Posts Tagged “Terrorism”
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