"I have a hard time finding words to express how angry I am that a Swedish police officer and family man was subjected to such a senseless act of violence," the country's Justice Minister Nicolai Wammen (S) told TV2.
The man, who was sentenced on Wednesday under the lesser violence provision, has previously been convicted of attempted murder and rape, among other crimes. Wammen believes this should have had a greater impact on the sentence than current legislation allows.
If you have already shown that you are inclined to commit violence against other people, this should be reflected in the punishment when you do it again, especially when it has such tragic consequences. I will present a bill on that.
“Sugar-sweet legislation”
The Danish People's Party's legal policy spokesperson, Anders Vistisen, sees the verdict as proof that Denmark has "sugar-sweet" legislation.
At the same time, we are extremely critical of the fact that this man has not been able to be stripped of his Danish citizenship.
According to the Danish news agency Ritzau, the man came to Denmark from Congo-Kinshasa as an infant.
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (S) has previously highlighted the man's origin and criticized the prosecutor's early announcement that he was seeking a sentence of between eight and ten months.
It cannot be that a man comes from Congo, goes down to Islands Brygge and hits another person with a fist, and gets away with a potentially lenient sentence, she said this summer.
Elon Musk reacts
The Social Democrats have not clarified how much they want to increase the punishment for people who have previously committed acts of violence.
Prosecutor Søren Harbo called for at least one year in prison in his closing argument at Copenhagen District Court, arguing that a punch with a fist does not normally have a fatal outcome.
The news of the one-year prison sentence has been widely shared on social media. On Wednesday evening, tech billionaire Elon Musk also commented on the verdict. "Only one year for murder. Scandalous," he wrote in a comment on an article about the verdict.
