The Copenhagen Municipal Court has ruled that the arrest and detention of 33 people during a demonstration in May 2011 was unjustified and has awarded the demonstrators involved up to DKK3,500 each.

“The court has not found that a personal search would not have been enough to avoid the danger of disturbance of public order that the police believed the group could cause,” the judgment says.

“As a result, the court finds that the arrests were unjustified and has ordered…. Copenhagen police to pay damages to the claimants,” the judgment said.

The episode concerned took place on May 18, 2011 during demonstrations to mark the anniversary of riots in 1993 in the Nørrebro district of Copenhagen. A total of 65 people were surrounded and arrested. Only half of the group, however, were involved in the class action suit, alleging unjustified arrest.

Copenhage police argued in court that officers acted correctly in carrying out an administrative arrest of the group in order to ensure law and order, but judges said the police should have simply searched the demonstrators instead.

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