Several politicians, including a former prime minister, condemn police raid on Iraqi asylum seekers

Severe criticism is being directed at the Copenhagen police’s heavy-handed removal of 19 Iraqi asylum seekers from their shelter at Brorson’s Church in Nørrebro early this morning.

Former prime minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, who is currently the president of the Party of European Socialists, has blasted the police action.

‘It went beyond the bounds of common humanity and decency,’ he said.

Politicians at home have condemned the police action as well, most of the criticism coming from three of the four government opposition parties. But the Social Democrats, the nation’s largest opposition party and Rasmussen’s former party, supported the evictions.

While the former prime minister refused to get into the political aspects of the action, he told Ritzaus Bureau he was worried what the United Nations and humanitarian groups would think when they get news of the operation.

Video taken of the eviction included an officer beating a young woman numerous times with his truncheon and several other incidents of police using what could be interpreted as excessive or unnecessary force.

Many of the Iraqi men’s wives and children fled from the church during the action and their whereabouts are unknown.

Birthe Rønn Hornbech, the integration minister, told Berlingske Tidende newspaper that the police action was not initiated by the government.

‘The police have their own division to deal with immigration issues,’ Hornbech said.

She added that the Iraqis themselves were to blame for the situation.

'When Denmark made the agreement with Iraq to take the refugees, I appealed repeatedly to them through the media to go home willingly. I made it clear that if they had to be sent back forcefully then they wouldn’t have any influence on their own situation.’

An Iraqi delegation is reportedly on the way to Denmark to determine the identity of the men arrested at the church.