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New Danish party faces online death threats

The Local Denmark
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New Danish party faces online death threats
Kashif Ahmad and his brothers have received a lot of attention since launching the National Party, but not all of it has been positive. Photo: Linda Kastrup/Scanpix

News articles about the newly-formed National Party were greeted by hostile and threatening comments on social media and the party has now reported the threats to the police.

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National Party received a mixed welcome in Denmark when the three brothers of Pakistani heritage behind the party said that they are entering Danish politics with a goal of making it acceptable to be tolerant again. But it quickly became clear that they would have their work cut out for them, as negative – and sometimes threatening – messages accompanied news stories about the party. 

A flood of threats poured in against the National Party on Facebook, with many users seemingly offended by the party's logo, which features a Danish flag and the text 'We are Denmark'.

See also: Danish immigrant party challenges populist right

"One thing is to receive verbal abuse and defamation, and we're not surprised by that. But it crosses the line when it comes to specific threats or death threats," Ahmad told Berlingske. 

"We have seen numerous examples that said things like we should get a 'shot in the neck' or that we will be 'found and killed'. I'm not exactly sure how many we will turn over to the police, but there are quite a few," he added. 

Ahmad said that the threats prove that Denmark needs a party like his that will work to change the negative discourse that so often dominates Denmark's immigration debate. 

See also: New parties vie for political breakthrough

"Of course I can also see that it isn't the majority who say these sorts of things. It makes me even more steadfast to continue because this is precisely what we need to confront," Ahmad said. 

In order to run for parliament in the next election, which must occur no later than September 2015, National Party must collect about 20,000 signatures from the public. At the party's introductory press conference last week, Ahmad said that the party was well on its way with some 7,000 signatures.

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