An asylum seeker from Syria has been sentenced to 60 days in prison followed by a deportation order for hitting anti-Islamisation campaigner Rasmus Paludan in the head with a rock.
The 24-year-old Syrian will be banned from re-entering Denmark for six years following his conviction in the case earlier this week, Danish broadcaster TV2 reports.
The attack which sparked the case occurred on April 19th when Mr Paludan held a demonstration in the city of Viborg.
Paludan, a staunch anti-Islamisation campaigner and leader of the Hard Line political party, has become well-known in Denmark for his controversial and provocative street actions, some of which have seen copies of the Islamic Quran burnt.
Danish Anti-Islam Group Burn Quran in Front of Islamist Protesters https://t.co/DuInF4CkWM
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) March 28, 2019
Three people were arrested at the demonstration in Viborg after the situation turned violent. So far, the 24-year-old is the only one of the three to have been tried and prosecuted for attacking Paludan.
Prosecutor Linette Lysgaard said she was satisfied with the result of the trial saying: “He was guilty of the whole thing. He admits that he has thrown a stone at Rasmus Paludan, which hit Paludan in the neck.”
The Syrian has put forward an appeal to the deportation order but has not appealed the guilty conviction for the assault.
The incident in Viborg came only days after another in Copenhagen in which Paludan sparked riots after throwing around a copy of the Quran before police forced him to leave for his own safety. Twenty-three people were arrested following the riots that required the deployment of police in riot gear and the use of tear gas.
While several polls that were taken before the Danish election predicted that Hard Line may enter the Danish parliament, the party came in just under the election threshold of two per cent, securing 1.9 per cent of the vote.
Denmark Arrests 23 After Violence Triggered by Campaigner Throwing Quran in Air https://t.co/bneyxqKpnf
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) April 16, 2019
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.