Danish police have charged relatives of a recently deceased man with failing to prevent his suicide, testing a nearly century-old law that criminalizes assisted suicide and, in some cases, the failure to stop one—even though suicide itself is not illegal.
The case centres on family members of Ebbe Preisler, who died by suicide in 2025. Authorities are investigating whether relatives breached section 253 of the Danish Penal Code, which punishes anyone who fails to render assistance to a person in obvious danger of death when help can be given without special risk. The provision has existed for decades but is rarely applied to families in suicide contexts. This investigation may set a practical precedent in Denmark for how authorities balance the duty to protect life against the risk of criminalising grief.
A strict legal framework with deep roots
Assisted suicide has been explicitly illegal in Denmark since 1930. The current wording in section 240 of the Penal Code, which treats anyone who induces or assists another person’s suicide as complicit in homicide, dates from the 1975 reform and carries up to three years imprisonment. In a 2021 judgment, the European Court of Human Rights noted that Denmark retains a wide margin of appreciation to maintain its ban, even as some EU countries permit physician-assisted dying under strict medical conditions. Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg all allow forms of assisted suicide or euthanasia. Denmark does not.
At the same time, suicide itself is not a crime in Denmark. Attempted suicide is treated as a health matter, not a criminal one. That leaves families in a legal grey zone: they have no explicit duty to intervene written into a standalone statute, yet prosecutors can argue they failed the general duty to assist someone in imminent danger. For internationals living in Denmark—many of whom come from countries where relatives face no criminal liability for not stopping an adult’s suicide—the risk may come as a surprise.
How courts interpret failure to act
Section 253 is open-ended. It requires a person to give help “required by the circumstances” when someone is in obvious danger, without particular risk to themselves or others. Danish courts have discretion to decide what counts as obvious danger and what counts as feasible help. In the 2021 European Court case, Danish judges showed they interpret assistance broadly: a doctor was convicted under section 240 for publishing a book and running a website with detailed suicide instructions for seriously ill people.
Preisler had publicly described a previous joint suicide attempt with his wife, in which he gave her and himself lethal doses of methadone. That history, combined with his later solo suicide, appears to have triggered the current investigation. Whether relatives knew of his intent, had the means to intervene, and chose not to will likely be the factual core of any prosecution.
No guarantee of support for families under scrutiny
Denmark publicly champions humane suicide prevention. All five regions run free, around-the-clock psychiatric emergency lines and specialized suicide prevention clinics. Therapy at these clinics has been linked to a 29 percent reduction in fatal suicidal acts and an 18 percent reduction in non-fatal acts among those treated. The national strategy states its guiding principle is to ensure suicidal people are not left on their own before support can be initiated.
Yet there is no specific statutory provision guaranteeing crisis support or legal protection for relatives who fear they may have misjudged a loved one’s risk. A 2024 qualitative study found that Danish general practitioners feel caught between their legal obligation to provide emergency care to suicidal patients and respect for patient autonomy. Families face a similar tension, but without professional training or clear guidance.
International health bodies urge the opposite approach
The World Health Organization’s 2021 policy brief explicitly recommends that countries avoid criminalising behaviour around suicide. According to the WHO, criminal investigations prevent people from seeking help and perpetuate stigma. A major Danish population study covering 1980 to 2016 found that bereavement by a relative or partner’s suicide significantly raises the survivor’s own suicide risk. Roughly one in 145 Danish suicides is attributable to suicide bereavement. That data suggests that police investigations after a suicide may collide with families’ heightened vulnerability.
Practical steps for families and expats
Anyone worried about a relative’s suicidal behaviour should contact emergency services on 112 or the regional psychiatric emergency line immediately. Recording those attempts—call logs, screenshots, appointment receipts—may later matter if authorities assess whether the duty to assist was met. The NGO Livslinien offers anonymous counselling by phone, email, or chat and provides some English-language guidance, making it one of the few immediately accessible resources for non-Danish speakers. General practitioners are legally obligated under Danish health law to provide emergency care for suicidal patients, even outside normal hours. Expats registered with a GP can rely on that duty.
Legal advisers and some law firms offer English consultation for foreign residents uncertain about their obligations. While Denmark’s suicide rate has stabilised around 10 to 11 deaths per 100,000 since 2007, the collision between criminal law and public health remains unresolved. For families caught in between, the consequences can be both personal and legal.
