Danish poet charged in shooting incident

Controversial writer Yahya Hassan remanded to custody

A court in Aarhus has ordered Danish poet Yahya Hassan be held in jail to await trial for a shooting incident he was involved in Friday night. Hassan, a provocative writer whose works are often critical of Islam has been charged with aggravated assault and illegal possession of a weapon.

Police said that Hassan fired five shots from a revolver during a fight at a shopping centre in Aarhus on Sunday night.

READ MORE: Yahya Hassan in court today on assault charge

One shot hit 17-year-old Tolunay Yildizin in the foot. He was treated and released Sunday night.

Legal troubles abound
“I was there by chance at the time he came out of a pizzeria,” Yildizin told Ekstrabladet newspaper. “I saw an angry man coming towards me. I was thinking ‘who is this?’ and then I saw that he had a gun”.

The 20-year-old Hassan entered a plea of not guilty and immediately asked that his sentenced of jail time be heard by the High Court.

This is not the poet’s first run-in with the law this year. He was arrested in February for driving under the influence of drugs.




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