The Murder of Nedim Yasar

Nedim Yasar had spent years in Copenhagen's gang environment before leaving it and becoming a public voice about crime, rehabilitation and life after gangs. He later worked as a radio host and co-wrote the autobiography Rødder — en gangsters udvej. On the evening of November 19, 2018, after attending a reception connected to the book, he was shot as he entered his car in Copenhagen's Northwest district. He died the following day.

The shooting

Copenhagen Police later described the prosecution case as a planned attack. According to the trial court findings summarized by police, two men drove to Hejrevej and waited near the reception. One approached Yasar's car and fired the fatal shots while the other remained in a vehicle and drove away afterward.

At the first trial, the court accepted that account against both defendants. But the later appeal produced an important legal distinction: the appellate court concluded that the driver had not been proven to know that the plan was to shoot Yasar.

Trial court: two life sentences

On February 25, 2020, the Frederiksberg District Court convicted two men of homicide and sentenced both to life imprisonment. Copenhagen Police reported that both defendants appealed immediately.

The shooter was later publicly identified in court reporting as Alexander Findanis. The second defendant, Martin Binni Svanberg, had been convicted at trial on a theory of participation as the driver.

Appeal: one conviction stands, one defendant acquitted

On February 25, 2021, the Eastern High Court reached different results for the two men. It upheld the finding that Findanis had killed Yasar and maintained his life sentence. The court acquitted Svanberg of the murder, finding it had not been proven that he knew Findanis intended to shoot Yasar when he acted as driver.

That acquittal is essential to the case's legal history. This page does not describe Svanberg as a convicted murderer. In 2024, Danish court reporting stated that he was awarded compensation for the more than two years he had spent in pretrial detention before the appellate acquittal.

Supreme Court review

Findanis obtained permission to take the case to Denmark's Supreme Court, but only on the question of sentence — not whether he was guilty. On October 6, 2021, the Supreme Court upheld the life sentence. The final result therefore left Findanis convicted of Yasar's murder while Svanberg remained acquitted of that homicide.

Public significance

Yasar's killing drew attention because he had publicly described his departure from organized gang life and had become a commentator on the criminal milieu he once inhabited. Those circumstances are part of the case's context, but the sources reviewed for this file do not justify turning speculation about a broader mastermind or motive into a proven judicial finding.

Timeline

1. November 19, 2018
   Yasar is shot

   After a book reception, Yasar is shot as he enters his car on Hejrevej in Copenhagen.

2. November 20, 2018
   Death

   Yasar dies from his injuries the following day.

3. February 25, 2020
   Two trial convictions

   The Frederiksberg District Court convicts two men of murder and sentences both to life imprisonment.

4. February 25, 2021
   Split appellate result

   The Eastern High Court upholds Findanis's murder conviction and life sentence but acquits the co-defendant who had driven the car.

5. October 6, 2021
   Supreme Court upholds life sentence

   Denmark's Supreme Court leaves Findanis's life term unchanged.

6. June 18, 2024
   Compensation after acquittal

   A court awards the acquitted former co-defendant compensation for his lengthy pretrial detention.

Current status

The murder is classified as solved / adjudicated. Alexander Findanis's conviction remained in force and his life sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court. The separate driver defendant was acquitted on appeal and must not be presented as legally responsible for the homicide.