Sweden Democrats’ MEP Charlie Weimers came under fire from Svenska Dagbladet after publicly offering condolences to the family of the Swedish police officer who died following a brutal assault in Copenhagen. In a phone call obtained by Samnytt, the SvD reporter spends much of the interview questioning Weimers’ publication of the victim’s name and his condolence post—rather than discussing the violent crime itself and those responsible.

After reports emerged that the 32-year-old Swedish police officer Christian Zedig had succumbed to his injuries, Charlie Weimers posted on X expressing his sympathies to the bereaved family.

“My deepest condolences go to Christian Zedig’s family—his wife and two young daughters, who have now lost their father,” Weimers wrote.

At the same time, he directed sharp criticism at current migration policies, linking the incident to what he described as consequences of mass immigration and lack of integration.

The statement was made after Danish police issued a wanted notice for, and later arrested, a man with an African immigrant background suspected of the crime. Meanwhile, Svenska Dagbladet’s interest became focused on the SD politician, rather than the suspected perpetrator and the crime itself.

SvD questioned the publication of the name

When Svenska Dagbladet’s reporter Martin Palmborg called Weimers, the conversation quickly centered on how he had been able to verify the information about the officer’s death, and why he chose to mention the deceased by name.

Weimers explained that he had based his assessment on public posts from the victim’s wife and sister, where they expressed grief and said goodbye to him.

– I have done all possible research to ensure the authenticity, and I have also seen a post from the sister where she says goodbye to her brother, Weimers said during the call.

READ MORE: African suspected of killing police officer Christian

In response to questions about verification, he said that he had used several digital tools to assess the authenticity of the posts.

– ChatGPT, Grok among others, Weimers responded when the reporter asked which tools he had used.

The SvD reporter returned several times to whether AI tools could really be considered reliable, and whether Weimers should have contacted the family before publishing the name.

– If they post it themselves on social media, then one has to draw certain conclusions from that, Weimers replied.

“The media scrutinize the tone instead of the crime”

The conversation then developed into a discussion about Swedish media’s coverage of the incident.

Weimers felt that Swedish media had been reluctant to describe the circumstances of the attack, and that focus instead had shifted to his own statements.

– It’s telling that I am trying to shed light on the terrible event and the reasons for why it happened at all. It’s me who ends up under scrutiny, instead of Swedish newspapers sending out their correspondents to investigate who these perpetrators were and why it happened, he said.

He continued:

– The media scrutinize the tone instead of the crime.

When the reporter objected that several Swedish media had reported on the case, Weimers replied that the coverage had been scant and key circumstances had been left out.

– Svenska Dagbladet itself writes that this arose after a dispute. While other media, and especially social media, give a much more detailed account of a group picking a fight and launching an attack, he said.

Brutal assault during World Cup celebration

The background to this is the high-profile assault in Copenhagen where Swedish police officer Christian Zedig was seriously injured during a World Cup broadcast in the district of Islands Brygge.

According to Danish media, Zedig tried to intervene when a fight broke out. He was then attacked and suffered life-threatening injuries. Danish police later issued a wanted notice for a suspect and published a photo before he surrendered himself to the police a few days later.

According to Danish reports, the suspect delivered a blow that caused Zedig to fall and suffer a severe brain hemorrhage. The man has previously been convicted of attempted murder in Denmark.

In the days following the assault, conflicting reports emerged about the victim’s condition. Posts from family members on social media suggested that he had passed away, while some media outlets reported that he was still being treated in critical condition. The death was later confirmed by Swedish authorities.

The question that grew larger than the crime

In the final part of the interview, the SvD reporter once again returned to the issue of name publication and Weimers’ responsibility as a public figure with a significant reach on social media.

Weimers, however, maintained that the focus should be on the act of violence that cost a Swedish family man his life.

– The worst thing we could do in this case is to remain silent when Swedes become victims of serious violence, he said.

The interview illustrates two entirely different perspectives on the same event. While the SvD reporter was mainly interested in the ethical aspects of Weimers’ post, the MEP wanted to discuss the crime, the perpetrators, and the political debate he believes the incident brings to the fore.

The result was a conversation in which the discussion of a condolence post and a name publication at times appeared to overshadow the deadly assault that sparked the entire debate.

READ MORE: African suspected of killing police officer Christian

Listen to the full phone call here: