Court intensifies penalty for Hamas attack video

Østre Landsret, a Danish regional court, has increased the sentence for Ahmad Elchaabi to six months of unconditional jail time for publicly approving Hamas’ attack on an Israeli music festival on October 7 last year. The original sentence, determined by Copenhagen City Court in February, was a conditional four-month imprisonment with a requirement of 100 hours of community service. In a roughly 40-second video posted on Snapchat, 27-year-old Elchaabi appeared to celebrate the violent event, accompanied by dance music and smiles. Elchaabi, with 80,000 followers, has been described as an influencer. He denied his guilt, and his defender argued the video was protected under the right to free speech. This case marks the first of several related to the endorsement of the terror attack on Israel.