Today’s big topic: Supreme court confirms that Ahmed Samsam was an agent for Danish intelligence services
After the Supreme Court ruling, Ahmed Samsam expressed his strong trust in the Danish legal system and that he would now try to advance the case in Spain, where he was labeled as a member of the Islamic State.
What’s happening?
The Danish Security and Intelligence Service (PET) and the Danish Defense Intelligence Service (FE) have been told by seven unanimous Supreme Court judges that they must acknowledge that Ahmed Samsam was a secret agent for them on trips to Syria in 2013 and 2014.
During these trips, he provided information for payment. As a consequence of the ruling, the two services have already issued a joint statement admitting that Samsam was their deployed eyes and ears in Syria.
In the ruling, the Supreme Court emphasized an audio file recorded in 2024, in which a PET employee says to Ahmed Samsam, »You have never been a member of ISIS (Islamic State, editor’s note). We know that«.
According to the Supreme Court, it cannot be ruled out that Samsam has the opportunity to have his criminal case in Spain reopened, and that the verdicts against him for joining a terrorist organization might have been different if the Spanish courts had known the extent of his cooperation with PET and FE during his trips to Syria.
»My goal is to be cleared of this conviction. It needs to be removed from my criminal record«, said Ahmed Samsam.
Why it matters!
Ahmed Samsam was convicted of terrorism and sentenced to eight years in prison in Spain in 2018. Since then, several media outlets have revealed that he had been working for the Danish Security and Intelligence Service (PET) and the Danish Defense Intelligence Service (FE) during secret trips to Syria.
The government’s legal adviser has argued that the significant attention the case is attracting could jeopardize the intelligence services’ ability to recruit sources and agents in the future.
Still curious? Read the full article here.
In other news
– Young voters are most concerned with housing policy
9,100 kroner for a room in Østerbro, Copenhagen. Just 9 square meters.
This is the description of a rental that was shared in one of the larger Facebook groups for housing seekers, around September 1. The date marks a time of year when many young people move to the capital to begin their studies.
The rent for the room in Østerbro represents a much larger trend in the capital, according to Curt Liliegreen, director of the The Knowledge Centre for Housing Economics:
»Copenhagen has become a popular city. It has gone from being a rundown city with a declining population to being a city with population growth and many educated people – an attractive city of international standard«, he says.
A study from 2025 shows that housing policy is the political area that engages young voters the most in the municipalities. The study was conducted by Epinion for the Danish Youth Council (DUF) among 18- to 30-year-olds.
»The fact that young people in Denmark are now most concerned with housing policy is a sign that housing challenges have worsened«, says Curt Liliegreen.
Read the full article here.
– Minority students struggle with significantly lower wellbeing
At universities such as law, political science, and economics, many students feel they are part of a minority.
This is revealed in a new survey by the labor union Djøf. In the survey, 34 percent of the nearly 2,000 participating students perceive themselves as part of a minority, citing age, ethnicity, disabilities, gender, sexuality, and religion as reasons.
According to the survey, students who identify as a minority have significantly lower well-being than their peers. For example, 39 percent of minority students describe themselves as highly or very highly stressed, compared to just 22 percent of other students.
Sara Vergo, Djøf’s president, was surprised by the numbers.
»It is quite widespread when every third person perceives themselves as a minority. More people have found a language for it. Therefore, we have become more aware of people who may have previously felt excluded«, she says, continuing:
»When we can link it to people not thriving, we can see whether one of the explanations for student dissatisfaction is actually minority stress. That is, the feeling of not really belonging. This is an important point that we may have overlooked in the past«.
Talk of town: A local bike shop on Amager has become an attraction
A local bike shop on Amager has become a bit of a tourist attraction. In the back room of ’Tukan Cykler’, you’ll find everything from budgerigars to cockatiels.
It all started when Bjarne Lausen, the owner of the shop, began looking after some customers’ pets while they were away. One day, a customer asked if he could take over the care of Larry the cockatiel, and soon word spread. More and more customers began bringing in birds they could no longer care for themselves.
»Most people come for the birds. Some visit almost every day just to say hi to them. We also get visits from families with children and occasionally from small daycare groups«, says Bjarne Lausen.
This newsletter features stories originally published in Danish. AI was used to shorten and translate the articles into English, after which a member of the editorial staff reviewed and refined the content.