threats
Criminal threat to commit an offence. Governed by the Danish Penal Code § 266.
Threats, in Danish criminal law, is an act in which one person threatens another with committing a criminal offence in a way that is objectively capable of causing serious fear for one's own or others' life, health or welfare. The provision is found in the Danish Penal Code (straffeloven) § 266 and carries a penalty of a fine or imprisonment for up to 2 years.
The provision covers only the more serious threats. The decisive question is not how the threatened person subjectively experienced the situation, but whether the threat was objectively of a character capable of causing serious fear. A concrete assessment of the content of the threat and the surrounding circumstances is made in each individual case.
It is not a requirement that the threat is actually carried out or attempted. The criminal act consists in the making of the threat itself — with the content and in the manner required by the law. The threat may be made orally, in writing or in another way, including digitally.
Threats may appear as a standalone offence, but may also form an aggravating circumstance in other criminal matters, for example in cases of violence, robbery or sexual offences. In cases concerning stalking or systematic harassment, repeated threats may further constitute a central element in the assessment of the overall conduct.
