A 20-year-old man, previously held in custody for delivering a fatal punch to a 64-year-old man at the Copenhell festival, will be released after a ruling by the Eastern High Court. This decision, revealed by the defense attorney Mikkel Holm Nielsen, reverses earlier rulings by the Copenhagen City Court.

The incident occurred on the evening of June 20 at the entrance to the Copenhell festival area on Refshaleøen in Copenhagen. The 20-year-old punched the 64-year-old in the head, causing him to collapse and later die.

Initially, the young man was remanded in custody on charges of aggravated violence under particularly aggravating circumstances, due to the victim’s death. The court initially ordered his imprisonment until the police completed their initial investigation.

During a subsequent hearing, the prosecution presented forensic evidence indicating that the 64-year-old’s death resulted from injuries sustained in the fall, not directly from the punch itself.

Consequently, the city court determined that the act did not meet the criteria for serious violence under the penal code. However, the court initially opted to maintain the 20-year-old’s imprisonment out of concern for public sentiment, believing he should not be free while bearing responsibility for a death.

The Eastern High Court disagreed with this assessment, leading to the order for the 20-year-old man’s release.