Lars Hedegaard responded to a knock at his front door in February, he saw a mailman waiting with a package delivery. What seemed to be a commonplace occurance took a dark turn. The mailman drew a gun and fired— and fortunately missed Hedegaard. After the initial shot, the gun jammed and Hedegaard began fighting the attempted murderer, until the man fled.

In April 2014, the suspect was arrested in Turkey, where he fled the day after his assassination attempt in Denmark. Just this month, the attempted killer was released by Turkish authorities as part of a hostage swap with ISIS.

A Known Critic of Islam

In Denmark, Hedegaard is well known for his sharp criticism of Islamism and low-barriers to immigration. Years ago he was sentenced to pay a fine of $1000 for hate speech, but appealed to the Danish Supreme Court and was acquitted of all charges.

Hedegaard’s public criticism of Islam is by all likelihood the motive for the attempted murder. The suspect holds a Danish passport, speaks Danish without an accent, and is of Middle East origin. He was known as a regular in a local mosque in Copenhagen, which in several cases has been linked to similar assaults.

Turkey Making a Trade?

Recently, 49 Turkish citizens held captive by ISIS were released. Officially it was an operation done by the Turkish National Intelligence Agency (MIT), with the media claiming that no ransom had been paid and no shots been fired. The Turkish government has not given any explanation as to the prisoners they released to ISIS, which has led to a great deal of theories and speculation. The most common one being that Turkey released ISIS prisoners in exchange for Turkish hostages. Among them is the man who tried to shoot and kill Lars Hedegaard.

While nothing is confirmed, fairly reliable sources estimate that more than 180 jihadists, including many Europeans, have been traded for the Turkish hostages. Nothing can be officially confirmed since the Turkish government has decided not to comment on how the release was made possible other than “by diplomatic efforts.” But it is naive to believe IS would just release 49 Turkish hostages without getting anything in return. Simply, but unfortunately, naive.

Lars Hedegaard’s Reaction to the Release

It was Hedegaard himself that announced to the press that he had been contacted by the Danish Security and Intelligence Service (PET) telling him that the suspect in his attempted assassination had been released.

Danish officials have been trying to get information on how the suspect of Lars Hedegaard’s assault could be released, but so far the Turkish government has kept quiet—a concern to many Danish lawmakers. Hedegaard himself was more straight-forward: “Turkey is a Muslim country, and it’s obvious that Islam weighs higher than legal principles, so I don’t expect the Turkish to speak the truth.”

He also states that the Danish government has done far too little to get the suspect in Danish custody to be put on trial. Hedegaard is most keen to find out is what the underlying motive for the attack was, and from where it came; he is certain that an organization had send the man on a mission to kill him.

Turkey’s Diplomatic Relations

If it is confirmed that several European jihadists, without the consent of other countries, have been used in an ISIS trade for Turkish hostages, Turkey will face tough diplomatic challenges across Europe, particularly Denmark. If the swap turns out to be true, it is against all common and widely international accepted practices.

Left is Lars Hedegaard, knowing that the man, disguised as a mailman, who tried to kill him last year, has been released into the hands of the most barbaric terror organization this world has ever witnessed.