The body of former Danish prisoner will not return home

Anker Hansen, a Danish long-term prisoner in Indonesia, died in his cell on January 14, 2023. The Dane served eight years for a drug conviction – a sentence the 63-year-old pleaded not guilty to.

Denmark does not have an extradition agreement with Indonesia. This means, that Anker Hansen had to serve his sentence in the Indonesian prison Lapas Klas 1 in Jakarta.

The Dane dreamed of going home to Denmark, but even in death, it seems that Anker’s dream of going back to his hometown in Jutland, will not come true.

Tricked by a fake African gold company

Anker Hansen was arrested in June 2014 at the airport in Djakarta with 1.48 kilos of methamphetamine stuffed into the back of his suitcase.

The Dane had apparently allowed himself to be tricked into importing the luggage for a fake African gold company. He himself denied any knowledge of the suitcase’s illegal contents.

The now deceased Dane faced the death penalty but received a final sentence of 18 years in prison. This was due to the fact, that the prosecutor could not prove that Anker Hansen had deliberately tried to smuggle drugs.

Throughout the process, the Indonesian authorities rejected all requests to have the Dane transferred to serve his sentence in Denmark.

The Family cannot afford to bring him home

Since his death, his family has fought to have his body returned to Denmark.

According to the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it would cost somewhere between 30.000-70.000 DKK to transport the body of the late Dane, and there is no authority in the legislation to finance the transport with public funds.

The Danish news podcast Genstart, has submitted the family’s criticism to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Ministry replied, that they provide consular assistance in criminal cases, but they cannot get into personal cases and therefore have no further comments.

Sources:
Ekstrabladet.dk
Genstart

About Miabell Mallikka

Miabell Mallikka is a journalist working with ScandAsia at the headquarters in Bangkok.

View all posts by Miabell Mallikka

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