One of Denmark’s most feared violent offenders is once again facing the legal system, and this time the prosecution is seeking a unique punishment: indefinite detention. This measure could keep him incarcerated for an undetermined amount of time. The indictment against the ethnically Danish man, who is currently subject to a ban on naming, is extensive and serious. It includes charges of rape, severe threats, physical and psychological violence, large-scale hashish trafficking, as well as kidnapping and stalking.

At the center of the case is a horrifying series of crimes that the man allegedly committed against his former partner. Among the accusations is a rape incident in which he brutally forced painful anal intercourse without consent, despite the woman’s heartbreaking pleas for him to stop. According to the indictment, the man allegedly said, “I own you. Say that I own you.”

However, the violence did not stop there. For over a year, the woman is said to have lived in constant fear, under close surveillance, and faced ongoing threats of physical violence. Evidence includes audio recordings in which the man, in a furious tone, criticizes her household management skills and threatens to break her arms and legs.

When the woman finally managed to break off the relationship, she did not escape his obsessive behavior. He intensely stalked her, making over 730 calls and sending messages within just a few weeks in the fall of 2022.

The man’s brutality was not limited to his partner. During a violent episode at a café, he randomly attacked a bystander and threatened a witness with death if the police were called.

The indefinite detention that the prosecution is now seeking is a distinctive legal measure aimed at individuals who are deemed to be persistently dangerous. Not only is a conviction for a violent crime required, but the National Board of Forensic Medicine (Retslægerådet) must also assess that the individual would pose a significant risk to public safety if released. Therefore, indefinite detention serves as both a punishment and a preventive measure to protect society, with an average duration of 14 to 15 years, but with the potential for indefinite extensions.