Death and Denial at the Hands of the Danish State

This article analyzes two cases of deaths in custody brought before the European Court of Human Rights, namely Kalkan v. Denmark and Rasmussen and others v. Denmark, in terms of the state violence involved and its subsequent denial. The analysis situates the cases in the broader taxonomy of techniques of denial used by states in cases before the Court involving the right to life and the prohibition of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment. Building on the sociology of denial, the article systematically examines such denials as based on: ‘necessity and knowledge’, ‘evidentiary uncertainty’, and ‘triviality and commonality’. The article thus represents the Court as a forum where violence at the hands of states is routinely concealed, justified, or finessed.