After 13 years, one of Denmark’s most notorious murder cases has returned to court as the trial over the killing of Jonas Thomsen Sekyere begins in Copenhagen. The accused, Omer Hassan Sheik Muse, stands charged with fatally stabbing the young law student in Kødbyen in 2012.
The Long Road to Trial
When the killing took place on November 17, 2012, at nightclub Bakken in Copenhagen’s popular Kødbyen district, few could have imagined that it would take more than a decade for the case to reach Danish court. Jonas Thomsen Sekyere, then a 21-year-old law student, was stabbed in the heart and died at the scene shortly after being taken to the hospital.
Omer Hassan Sheik Muse fled Denmark just days later, beginning a long international pursuit that took authorities years to resolve. According to the prosecution, Muse first took a train toward Stockholm and then escaped to Somaliland. That self-declared independent region, considered part of Somalia, refused to extradite him to Denmark because it viewed him as one of its citizens.
Conviction Abroad and Return to Denmark
In Somaliland, Muse was eventually prosecuted and sentenced to ten years in prison for the deadly stabbing, with a portion of that sentence served before his release. He was also ordered to pay compensation to the victim’s family—an amount humorously reported in local currency as equivalent to “33 and one-third camels.”
Despite that conviction, Danish prosecutors have maintained that Muse can still be tried again in Denmark. They argue that the case involves Danish citizens, took place on Danish soil, and was judged in Somaliland under circumstances that do not meet Danish legal standards.
Muse voluntarily surrendered to Ethiopian authorities in 2024. Following diplomatic coordination, he was returned to Denmark later that year to face a full retrial for homicide before a Danish jury.
Inside the Copenhagen Courtroom
The courtroom at Copenhagen City Court is packed with relatives, journalists, and onlookers. Presiding over the proceedings are three judges and eight jurors. The defendant, sitting beside his attorney Michael Juul Eriksen, has pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder.
Prosecutor Søren Harbo, who has worked on the case since 2012, outlined the central question for the jury: whether Muse acted with intent to kill when he stabbed Sekyere. The prosecution describes the stabbing as deliberate, fatal, and carried out with awareness of the risk of death. The defense counters that Muse never intended to kill, claiming instead reckless behavior that should not be classified as murder.
Evidence and Legal Arguments
Surveillance footage from that night has become a critical piece of evidence. The black-and-white video, recorded from a bar camera, shows the moments leading up to the stabbing, identifying those present, including Muse in a distinctive jacket.
Investigators later found blood on the nightclub floor near the restrooms, confirming the location of the fatal confrontation. Following the attack, Sekyere was seen collapsing outside the club, where rescuers were unable to save his life. He was a promising student, remembered as a bright and kind man who would have turned 35 this year.
Torture Allegations and Time Served
The defense team has also raised the argument that Muse’s prison time in Somaliland should count more heavily toward any future sentence. His lawyer claims that detention conditions there were comparable to torture, which should be recognized as harsher than typical imprisonment.
The number of years Muse actually served remains disputed. The defense says he spent about seven and a half years incarcerated, while prosecutors insist it was closer to six. Both sides have agreed that the years spent in Somaliland and pretrial detention in Ethiopia should be taken into account, though they sharply disagree on how.
A Case That Still Divides
Even after 13 years, the Kødbyen killing still raises complex questions about international justice and double jeopardy. Under normal circumstances, a person cannot be punished twice for the same crime. Yet Danish prosecutors say this case is different because the original trial took place in a legal system not aligned with Danish principles.
For the victim’s family, the renewed trial is a painful but necessary step toward closure. For Muse, it is a return to the courtroom of the country he left behind more than a decade ago. The jury will spend the coming days evaluating testimony, forensic evidence, and years of investigative material to decide whether his actions that night amount to murder under Danish law.
Sources and References
TV 2: Efter 13 år begynder sagen om drabet i Kødbyen
