A 31-year-old man of African origin, who had previously been convicted of attempted murder and rape, has been sentenced to one year in prison for the punch that killed the Swedish police officer Christian Zedig (32) in Copenhagen.
It was Tuesday 30 June. At Islands Brygge in Copenhagen, the match between Norway and the Ivory Coast was being shown on a big screen. Among the crowd was Christian Zedig, a police officer from Eksjö who was in Copenhagen with a friend during the World Cup. He was employed by the Swedish police but was attending the event as a private individual.
According to the indictment, the 31-year-old at one point stood on a bench and threw two beer cans with a powerful overhand throw at a group of people – including the Swede.
Zedig is said to have tried to defuse the disturbance. According to the prosecutor, he had not sought out the conflict himself. He was struck by a punch to the throat.
Norway won the match 2–1. Christian Zedig died at Rigshospitalet three days later.
On Wednesday, the verdict was handed down at Copenhagen City Court: one year’s imprisonment.
Despite the fatality, the 31-year-old was charged only under Section 244 of the Criminal Code for simple assault, which carries a fine or a prison sentence of up to three years. The prosecution had previously indicated that it would seek a sentence of between eight and ten months’ imprisonment.
The 31-year-old admitted to the offence, which was also captured on camera. When the prosecutor asked how he felt about what he had done, he replied that he felt terrible.
According to DR, the convicted man does not wish to appeal. The prosecution has 14 days to decide whether to appeal the sentence.
The man is a Danish citizen of African origin and came to Denmark as an infant. He has a long criminal record.
He has served two years and nine months for several counts of rape, attempted rape, assault, threats and coercion against his then girlfriend, who reported him to the police in 2013. Less than two months after he was released on parole, he committed an attempted murder at a nightclub in Copenhagen – a knife attack that resulted in a seven-year prison sentence.
Last Friday, he was also sentenced to three months’ imprisonment without parole by Svendborg District Court for assaulting a fellow inmate at Nyborg State Prison in 2022. The victim suffered a concussion and fractures to both his nose and ribs.
The case has shocked Denmark. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in August that she was “furious and outraged” by the murder. She described the alleged perpetrator’s behaviour as verging on psychopathic, and said it should not be the case that “a man from the Congo can come to Denmark”, knock another person down with his fist at Bryggen and potentially get away with such a lenient sentence.
The government now intends to impose harsher penalties under Section 244 in cases where the victim dies as a result of a blow or a shove, provided the perpetrator has previously been convicted of a violent offence.
The family is claiming 2.8 million Swedish kronor in compensation. The claim will be considered by a separate tribunal at a later date.
Christian Zedig leaves behind a wife and two children. His widow was the last to give evidence in court. She said that her husband had been the family’s rock, and that they were to raise their daughters together.
“Now it’s so clear that I’m on my own with all of this,” she said, according to Expressen.
