Copenhagen, 21 October 2026 — Video footage showing Danish police officers repeatedly striking photojournalists during demonstrations in Copenhagen has triggered widespread criticism, an independent criminal investigation and questions in Denmark’s parliament. The incidents have brought renewed attention to police accountability, press freedom and the growing polarization surrounding immigration and far-right mobilization in Denmark.
Two experienced photojournalists, Thomas Borberg of Politiken and Anthon Unger of Ekstra Bladet, were struck with police batons while covering demonstrations for and against remigration in central Copenhagen on Saturday, 17 October.
Footage circulated by international broadcaster TRT and Danish media has drawn attention to the police response. A separate recording, described by Danish news agency Ritzau on 20 October, shows an officer striking a photographer twice, pursuing him as he retreats and striking him again.
According to Danish media reports, Borberg was hit several times, his camera was damaged and he required emergency medical treatment. Unger was reportedly struck on the arm by a plainclothes officer despite carrying professional equipment and visible press credentials. The two incidents occurred at different locations during the demonstrations.
Eight arrests as opposing demonstrations confront each other
The confrontations took place during a nationalist demonstration organized by Det Danske Folk (The Danish People), together with United Lion and Sun Nordic.
The movement organized the march under the slogan Vores Danmark (Our Denmark), advocating Danish national identity and what it calls fair and realistic remigration. Its political messaging also included opposition to Islamization, Sharia law and religious social control.
Counter-demonstrations organized by anti-racist groups opposed the march under the slogan No to remigration, warning against racism, exclusion and policies targeting immigrant communities.
According to the Danish news agency Ritzau, police arrested eight people during the events. Three were detained before the nationalist demonstration began, while five others were arrested as tensions escalated near Højbro Plads at approximately 5 p.m.
Police Deputy Inspector Jakob Hansen said groups of participants began covering their faces and confronting others as the demonstrations dispersed. Officers intervened and deployed batons.
However, the circumstances surrounding the reported confrontations do not, by themselves, establish a justification for the use of force against journalists documenting the events.
Independent investigation opened
Following criticism from the two newspapers and journalists’ organizations, Copenhagen Police announced on 19 October that the incidents would be referred to the Danish Independent Police Complaints Authority, known as DUP.
On 20 October, DUP officially confirmed that it had opened investigations into two incidents involving police baton strikes against press workers.
Importantly, the authority stated that the incidents are being investigated as possible criminal assaults. Investigative steps may include interviewing witnesses, examining video recordings and obtaining medical documentation.
Copenhagen Police maintained that it did not intend to obstruct legitimate journalistic work and emphasized its duty to protect freedom of assembly, freedom of expression and the media’s ability to report.
The newspaper editors strongly criticized the incidents.
Politiken editor-in-chief Christian Jensen described the police conduct as an interference with the press’s legitimate work. Ekstra Bladet editor-in-chief Knud Brix condemned the assault on his photographer as completely unacceptable.
The Danish Union of Press Photographers, together with the Danish Union of Journalists, has requested a meeting with national police leadership to discuss accountability and preventive measures.
The controversy has also reached parliament. On 19 October, MP Rosa Lund submitted questions to Justice Minister Nicolai Wammen concerning the necessity and proportionality of police force and the protection of journalists covering demonstrations.
CIVIL – Center for Freedom, a founding member of the Defending Democracy Global Initiative (DDGI), strongly condemns the police violence against journalists covering the demonstrations in Copenhagen. The disturbing footage showing police officers striking press photographers represents an alarming violation of fundamental democratic principles and raises serious concerns about press freedom, police accountability, and the protection of journalists in Europe. No political tensions, public disorder, or security considerations can justify unjustified violence against journalists performing their professional duties.
CIVIL calls for a prompt, transparent, and independent investigation, accountability for those found responsible, and effective measures to prevent similar incidents. Denmark’s strong democratic institutions and international reputation for protecting fundamental freedoms make it especially important that these incidents receive thorough scrutiny. Democracy is measured not only by the freedoms it guarantees in principle, but by how those freedoms are protected when they are challenged in practice.
The right to demonstrate must be protected, public order must be maintained, and journalists must be free to document both, including the conduct of the police themselves.
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Wider context: Remigration, nationalism and growing polarization
The events are unfolding against the background of increasingly contentious debates about immigration, national identity and deportation policies in Denmark. The term remigration is used by different political actors, but within European far-right movements it has become associated with proposals for large-scale migrant returns, including demands that may extend beyond people without legal residence status.
Denmark already maintains restrictive immigration policies. In September 2026, its government joined Germany, Austria, Greece and the Netherlands in advancing plans for so-called return hubs outside the European Union for migrants who do not have permission to remain. The initiative, which aims to begin operations as early as 2027, has raised human rights concerns over the treatment and legal protection of migrants transferred outside EU territory.
Meanwhile, Denmark’s far-right Danish People’s Party won 9.1 percent of the vote and 16 parliamentary seats in the March 2026 elections. Although the party was not the organizer of Saturday’s march, the result demonstrates the continuing electoral significance of nationalist and anti-immigration politics.
Demonstrations involving nationalist movements and counter-protesters also took place on 5 September, when police reported three arrests and forcibly cleared an unauthorized street blockade.
A test for a democracy known for press freedom
Denmark occupies fourth place among 180 countries in the 2026 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders. That standing makes the reported assaults particularly significant.
The incident raises questions extending beyond the conduct of individual police officers, whether journalists can safely document police operations during confrontations, whether press credentials are adequately recognized and whether authorities maintain appropriate limits on the use of force.
The investigation has not yet established criminal responsibility. Nevertheless, the documented use of police batons against journalists, the public criticism by Danish media organizations and the initiation of independent investigations have already made the events an important test of institutional accountability.
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