A 21-year-old man, wearing a Danish national team jersey, appeared in Copenhagen City Court Thursday morning for a preliminary hearing, facing ten charges related to recruiting individuals to commit serious violent crimes in Denmark.

The man, who is protected by a name ban, was arrested Wednesday evening after being extradited from Morocco and has been imprisoned in absentia since November of the previous year. His defense attorney stated that he pleads not guilty and does not wish to speak.

The charges against the man include offenses committed under the gang clause, indicating that police believe the crimes were part of a conflict between two groups: the banned Danish gang Loyal To Familia (LTF) and a group called Unknown Team. He is accused of advertising and recruiting people for tasks involving murder, explosions, and shootings in November of last year, allegedly in association with leading members of Unknown Team.

Furthermore, he is charged with contributing to crimes committed by individuals under 18, including complicity in a case where a 12 and 17-year-old placed a firebomb in front of an entrance on Rymarksvej in Hellerup in October of the previous year. He is also accused of instructing the same two boys to throw Molotov cocktails at a juice bar on Nørrebro.

The 12-year-old boy cannot be prosecuted due to being below the age of criminal responsibility, while the 17-year-old pleaded not guilty to the charge of arson at a preliminary hearing last year.

The court hearing is taking place behind closed doors at the request of the prosecutor, who argued that the case involves serious and organized crime, and there may be more unknown accomplices at large. The judge will decide whether there is sufficient suspicion to remand the 21-year-old in custody.