The well-known Danish author Carsten Jensen is charged with opposing police orders after a climate demonstration on Friday

The author behind the book ‘We, the drowned’, Carsten Jensen, was arrested on Friday 6 May in Copenhagen for a climate demonstration.

It happened in connection with an action organized by the climate activist group Extinction Rebellion.

Here they had invited the author to give a speech at Højbro Plads, which in this connection was illegally cordoned off by the demonstrators.

After Carsten Jensen had given his speech, he sat down among the other protesters, after which he was arrested and driven to Bellahøj.

– I just thought that the arrest was symbolic, says Carsten Jensen, who had to spend seven and a half hours at Bellahøj.

According to Carsten Jensen, he was in a cell for 7.5 hours on Friday night. Photo: Anthon Unger

Extinction Rebellion had invited the author to give a speech at Højrbro Plads, which in the occasion was illegally cordoned off by the protesters. Photo: Anthon Unger
Extinction Rebellion had invited the author to give a speech at Højrbro Plads, which in the occasion was illegally cordoned off by the protesters. Photo: Anthon Unger

At one point, Carsten Jensen was led into a cell, where he was told to take off all his clothes.

– The officer asked me to lift up the scrotum and bend me down to my knees so that the balls were spread. It was humiliating.

The author explains that he wanted to get a call from his wife so she would not have to worry about him. But he was allegedly told not to do so.

– They said I should not talk to my wife as it could affect the case against me. I had to wait for the investigators to come. Also, I really had to go to the toilet and drew attention to this several times, but I was not given the opportunity.

He is charged under §119 and risks up to 1.5 years in prison. Photo: Anthon Unger.
He is charged under §119 and risks up to 1.5 years in prison. Photo: Anthon Unger.

Only around 11.30 pm did two investigators arrive to look at Carsten Jensen’s case.

– They really did not look like they wanted to spend time on this. They wanted me out, and so did I.

Carsten Jensen says that when he was about to leave the station, he should have taken a photo again, taken DNA and fingerprints. In doing so, he was told he could risk up to a year and a half in prison when he opposed the police.

Copenhagen Police can confirm that a 69-year-old man was among those arrested at a demonstration on Friday 6 May in the afternoon. The individual charges for the detainees the police do not want to disclose.

By Editor

One thought on “The well-known Danish author Carsten Jensen is charged with opposing police orders after a climate demonstration on Friday”

Leave a Reply