Denmark: Police arrest members of the Left Socialist Party

Last month, under the banner of freedom of speech and the press, Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen defended the provocative Mohammed cartoons published in the Jyllands-Posten newspaper—cartoons that set off protests by outraged Muslims worldwide. Before the month ended, however, a police operation showed where the right-wing federal government in Copenhagen really stands on free speech. On February 20, the Danish police arrested four members of the Left Socialist party (Venstresocialisterne, VS), including its leader, and issued arrest warrants against three others. The reason: Last year, VS formed the company Fighters & Lovers, which since January 10 has sold over the Internet T-shirts imprinted with the initials of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PLFP). Part of the proceeds from the sale of the shirts was to go to these organizations. The VS members were accused of supporting foreign terrorist organizations, an act prohibited in Denmark that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. The relevant Paragraph 144a was added to the Danish penal code in 2002 in the wake of the terror attacks in the United States. While those arrested have since been released, the investigation against them is proceeding. In addition, the police confiscated money and computer equipment and closed down the Fighters & Lovers web site.