A Copenhagen court today found local politician Finn Rudaizky guilty of leaking confidential information to the Danish media about the gunman Omar el-Hussein.
He was ordered to pay 10 day-fines of 1,000 kroner each. Prosecutor Søren Harbo had originally demanded a prison sentence of 30 days, while Rudaizky had pleaded not guilty and wanted to be fully acquitted.
Nevertheless, two of the three judges decided the accused should get a suspended prison sentence in the form of the 10 day-fines.
Rudaizky was found guilty of providing confidential information about the gunman and his family to journalists from Berlingske and BT, which was subsequently published in the two newspapers.
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In the name of public interest
The information included the fact that el-Hussein was a known criminal and that Copenhagen Municipality was in contact with his family prior to the 2015 shootings, in which he killed film director Finn Nørgaard and security guard Dan Uzan and wounded three police officers.
Rudaizky cannot directly appeal to the High Court, because that would require a sentence of at least 20 day-fines. He can, however, apply for a smaller fine at the Appeals Permission Board.
The 74-year-old politician told Jyllands-Posten that he does not regret sharing the confidential information with the media as he believes “it was in the public interest to have the information”.
Rudaizky added that he plans to run for re-election to the municipal council in the autumn’s local elections.
