Yasar's last hours: Hejrevej, November 19, 2018

On November 19, 2018, at 7:33 PM, 31-year-old Nedim Yasar left a book reception on Hejrevej in Copenhagen's Nordvest district. Less than ten minutes later, he was dead – brutally murdered with two shots to the head through his car window. This shooting resembled a scene from a movie, but for Yasar, a former gang leader turned well-known radio host, the fear of a violent death was a constant companion. His dramatic life story, from an upbringing marked by marginalization to a career in the criminal underworld and a difficult exit from gang crime, attests to the complex dynamics of Denmark's parallel societies and the life-threatening consequences of attempting to leave a gang environment.

From Ballerup to the top: Yasar's path to Los Guerreros

Nedim Yasar was born in Turkey in 1987 and came to Denmark at the age of four with his Kurdish parents. He grew up in the Grantoften residential area in Ballerup, where early acting-out behavior culminated in his expulsion from school at age 12. In this environment, characterized by concrete and a fascination with power, the ambition to become a gangster blossomed. At 15, Yasar began his criminal career with petty crime, hash sales, and violence. His criminal career accelerated in the mid-2000s when he founded the gang Los Guerreros, which served as a support group for Bandidos MC. As leader of Los Guerreros, Nedim Yasar controlled an extensive hash market, orchestrated extortion, and used brutal violence to assert territory. A bloody turning point occurred in 2009 during a violent gang war against a rival group, resulting in several deaths and long prison sentences.

2012 crossroads: From prison to a risky radio career

After serving a prison sentence for violence and extortion in 2012, Nedim Yasar stood at a crossroads. The prospect of becoming a father motivated him to leave gang crime and enroll in the police's exit program. The decision required drastic changes: he had to sever all ties to his former criminal network, live at secret addresses, and begin training as a pedagogue. The path out of the gang environment was marked by constant fear and mistrust, a psychological struggle he openly shared in interviews. Despite the obvious risks, Yasar broke the gang world's fundamental code of silence. As a radio host on Radio24syv's popular program 'Politiradio' and through public lectures, he openly shared his story and exposed the gangs' brutal methods. This openness made Nedim Yasar a role model for many, but also a high-profile target for the criminal circles he had turned his back on.

Hejrevej shooting: Yasar murdered after book event

On the fateful evening of November 19, 2018, Nedim Yasar's murder took place. He had just attended a book reception for his autobiography, "Rødder – en gangsters udvej" (Roots – A Gangster's Way Out), where he detailed his exit from gang crime – a book considered a betrayal in some parts of the gang world. Around 7:23 PM, Yasar left the reception on Hejrevej and got into his black Mercedes. Surveillance footage captured a darkly clad man suddenly approaching the car and firing the fatal shots through the driver's side window. The perpetrator then fled on foot to a waiting car. Nedim Yasar was rushed to Rigshospitalet (Copenhagen University Hospital) with a gunshot wound to the head, but his life could not be saved. He was pronounced dead at 2:30 AM on November 20. At the crime scene in Copenhagen's Nordvest district, police forensics found two 9mm shell casings, indicating a cold-blooded and well-planned execution.

Yasar case: Findanis sentenced, Svanberg acquitted

The investigation into Nedim Yasar's murder became one of the most high-profile cases in recent Danish criminal history. The police focused on Yasar's past in the gang environment and his very public break from it. As early as December 2018, four men with ties to the Satudarah motorcycle club, an organization known for conflicts with Bandidos MC, were arrested. During the subsequent trial at the Court of Frederiksberg in February 2020, two of the men, Alexander Findanis (a former Satudarah member) and Martin Binni Svanberg, were sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder. The verdict relied heavily on telecommunications data from mobile phones near the crime scene, as well as witness testimonies. Both convicted men appealed. In the Eastern High Court (Østre Landsret) in 2021, Svanberg was surprisingly acquitted, while Alexander Findanis's life sentence for Nedim Yasar's murder was upheld, a verdict later affirmed by the Supreme Court (Højesteret). The trial revealed a complex network. The prosecution argued that the motive was a personal conflict, possibly ignited by Yasar's statements, while the defense suggested a failed extortion attempt. Although the precise motive remained debated, the courts emphasized the planned and execution-style nature of the act. However, Svanberg's acquittal left questions about the full identification of the masterminds, leading some to consider parts of the case unsolved regarding all involved parties.

Yasar's legacy: Bestseller and Svanberg's compensation

Nedim Yasar's murder left an indelible mark on Denmark. His book, "Rødder – en gangsters udvej" (Roots – A Gangster's Way Out), became a posthumous bestseller, and his radio broadcasts from 'Politiradio' were rebroadcast as a testament to a life that attempted to break free from gang crime. For many young people, especially those with immigrant backgrounds, Nedim Yasar became a symbol of hope and the possibility of changing a seemingly fixed destiny. In the criminal circles he left, however, his murder serves as a brutal warning. Although the number of applicants to exit programs has increased, the threat level against defectors from the gang environment has also escalated. An anonymous source told the newspaper Information that the gang world is a place with only one 'permeable' exit – easy to misstep. A late development in the murder case occurred when the Court of Frederiksberg awarded the acquitted Martin Binni Svanberg 1.3 million kroner in compensation for wrongful imprisonment. This ruling underscores the ongoing complexity and the many unresolved aspects still surrounding the brutal murder of Nedim Yasar in Copenhagen.

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