Video: MP Skander Siddique criticizes police for stopping him and asking for his ID after his meeting with party leaders in Bornholm
Free Green Party leader Skander Siddique expressed his dismay after being stopped by police on Friday at the Folkemødet public meeting, accusing the police of discriminating against him because of his skin color.
After participating in a debate with parliamentary party leaders on Friday, in his capacity as a member of parliament and political leader of the Liberal Green Party, he moved to another location in the Folkemødet meeting area. He heard someone call out, “Hey, stop!” (in Danish). When he turned around, three police officers approached him and asked for his ID and CPR (social security number). According to Siddiq, he initially thought it was a joke, but they repeated the request. He then asked someone with him to film the incident and posted the video on his official social media accounts. Siddiq stated that the officers did not seem to recognize him as a politician. In the video, standing near the officers, Siddiq said, “I am a political leader and a member of parliament. I have just participated in a debate with party leaders. I wonder why they stopped me here, as if I were a young boy running around Nørrebro.“ He added that he felt like he was in Nørrebro when he was 15 years old and was stopped in Blågårds Plads. Siddiq described being stopped by the police while serving as a politician in Folkemødet as… "Complete madness.".
Click here to watch the video on Iskandar Sadiq's Facebook page
When Siddiq and his companions asked the police why they were being detained, the officers replied that it was due to a previous incident in which climate activists had caused disturbances. The police stated that local residents were demanding the arrest of the climate activists who had caused disturbances in Folkemødet on Thursday and Friday during the first debate and then during the Prime Minister's speech. However, political leader Skander Siddiq commented, "The troublemakers were mainly white youths, and we are Black and over 30 years old, so this isn't a good reason. It saddens me that it has to be this way." Siddiq stated that he was absolutely certain it was racial discrimination and that he would file a formal complaint after Folkemødet concluded. He said the police should tell him why he was being detained and request his ID and CPR number.
A friend, when asked by TV2 about the police requesting his name and CPR number, replied: “It’s because I’m a suspect. Why don’t they ask Pia Olsen Dyr or Pernille Vermond? (other party leaders). I can understand if you, as the majority of Danes, can’t understand it, but as a brown (i.e., Black) citizen in this society, it’s nothing new. I’m always being taken for random checks and stopped at the airport. Brown people face this all their lives.”.
Bornholm police are investigating the incident.
It appears that Bornholm police saw the video on Twitter and stated in a tweet that they were aware of the video posted by politician Skander Siddiqui expressing his dissatisfaction and that they would investigate what happened before the filming and whether anything had occurred that violated the rules.
