| Controversial Islamic group Hizb-ut-Tahrir will not be forcibly disbanded in Denmark. Justice Minister Lene Espersen announced the news last week, after receiving a report from the State Prosecutor’s Office on the constitutionality of banning the group. State Prosecutor Henning Fode concluded ’after a thorough evaluation’ that Hizb ut-Tahrir should not be banned pursuant to Paragraph 78 of the Danish constitution. This paragraph states that groups may be forcibly disbanded if they attempt to promote their aims through the use of violence. Lene Espersen agreed with Fode’s recommendation. ’I would like to emphasise that the decision regarding Hizb ut-Tahrir is not a sign of acceptance for anti-Semitic remarks that have been made (by Hizb ut-Tahrir members) in the past. This position was made clear when the Eastern Circuit High Court convicted a Hizb ut-Tahrir spokesman for violating the penal code’s racism paragraph,’ said Espersen. Espersen said that any Hizb ut-Tahrir members found in violation of the nation’s criminal code would be duly prosecuted. |