Two Swedish teenagers were jailed on Thursday in pre-trial detention in connection with two pre-dawn explosions near the Israeli embassy in Copenhagen the previous day. Prosecutors said investigators were determining “whether the motive could be a terrorist attack.”
No one was injured in the early Wednesday explosion in an area that is home to several overseas diplomatic missions, but a nearby Jewish school was closed after the blast.
The pair, who cannot be identified by court order, were ordered to be detained for 27 days. They were charged with preliminary charges of possession of illegal weapons and possession of five hand grenades. Prosecutor Soren Harbo said two grenades exploded when the suspects threw them at a house near the embassy.
“This was pretty close to the Israeli embassy,” Harbo said before Thursday's court hearing. The explosion damaged the roof terrace of a nearby house. There was no damage to the diplomatic mission.
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Thursday's hearing was held in private after preliminary charges were read. Danish broadcaster DR, reporting from inside the courtroom, said the teens, aged 16 and 19, were suspected of acting “in pre-agreed collaboration with one or more perpetrators”. Ta.
According to local media, the two men deny the charges.
The two suspects were arrested on a train at Copenhagen Central Station just before noon on Wednesday. Danish media published photos of a man wearing a white hazmat suit being taken away by police on a station platform. Police announced Thursday that a third suspect, a 19-year-old who had been arrested near the embassy, had been released.
Police vehicles are seen near the Israeli embassy in Copenhagen on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, as police investigate two explosions that occurred near the scene. (Emil Helms/Ritzau Scanpics, via AP)
In Denmark, the charges are a step short of formal charges, allowing authorities to detain criminal suspects while they investigate.
Separately, gunfire was fired at the Israeli embassy in Stockholm late Tuesday. There were no injuries. No arrests have been made.
Denmark's internal security agency, known by the acronym PET, said: “Swedish authorities believe that at least one specific act directed at the Israeli embassy in Stockholm by young Swedish criminals has links to Iran. We assessed that there is.”
In May, Swedish internal security authorities SAPO condemns Iran He is suspected of using an established criminal network in Sweden as a proxy to target Israelis and Jews. The announcement was made after The Israeli embassy in Stockholm is under lockdown In late January, after what was then described as “hazardous material” was discovered on the premises of a diplomatic mission. Swedish media said the object was a grenade.
“If there are state actors who encourage young criminals to carry out acts targeting Jews in neighboring countries, we may be concerned that something similar will happen in Denmark,” PET said in a statement.
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In Stockholm, Fredrik Hallström, an official with Sweden's internal security agency SAPO, said: “The latest incident at the Israeli embassy cannot be classified as a terrorist crime at this time.” Johan Olsson, head of the Swedish Police's National Operations Directorate, told the same press conference that the charges were “aggravated weapons offenses causing danger or other serious unlawful intimidation or harm.”
