Two U.S. college students travelling for spring break were arrested and charged with assault in Copenhagen and held in a Danish prison for two weeks following an alleged altercation with an Uber driver.
Owen Ray, a 19-year-old student at the Miami University of Ohio, and his unnamed friend were detained at Copenhagen Airport on April 1 over an alleged dispute with an Uber driver the night before, Ray’s lawyer, Jordan Finfer, told ABC News.
On Monday, the family of Ray said their son and his friend were finally released from jail after being detained for two weeks — but Ray’s family claims that Danish authorities took their passports so they have to remain in Denmark.
“We are relieved that Owen has been released from a Danish prison following the unprovoked assault he and his friend suffered at the hands of an Uber driver on March 31,” his parents, Andy Ray and Sara Buchen-Ray, said in a statement to the outlet.
“The facts make clear that Owen is the victim in this case, and we urge Danish officials to allow him to return home to the United States without delay.”
Ray’s lawyer claims that Ray and an unnamed friend were in an Uber on March 31 when they realized they had entered the wrong address for their destination in the app. The driver allegedly refused to take them anywhere else.
Ray, his friend and the Uber driver all got out of the car and that’s when the alleged altercation took place, according to the lawyer, based on Ray’s account of the events.
Finfer said Ray told him the driver kicked him in the groin and in response, Ray pushed him away and the driver fell. Finfer said Ray and his friend then ran away from the driver.
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The two students were later arrested at Copenhagen Airport the day following the alleged altercation while trying to return home. Local police deemed the pair “flight risks” and claimed they were planning to run from the incident, Finfer said.
A Copenhagen police spokesperson told multiple outlets that the two students were charged with common assault.
“They were sentenced to 10 days pre-trial detention. This verdict has since extended until April 24,” the spokesperson added.
Ray’s parents said their son and his friend “did nothing to instigate the attack.”
“We urge the Danish authorities to recognize Owen’s innocence and release him immediately,” they said. “Our family is heartbroken, and we want our son home to celebrate Easter with us this week.”
The U.S. State Department said in a statement Monday that it is aware of the situation and is providing the citizens with consular assistance, according to Chicago-based ABC affiliate WLS.
A spokesperson for the department told NBC News that the citizens’ safety is a priority but that no further comment would be given out of respect for their privacy.
On Monday, from Denmark, Ray told Good Morning America he and his friend had been freed from custody.
“I feel good. I’m glad that the High Court ruled in our favour today and allowed us to be released from the prison,” Ray said. “It feels good to be with my family.”
Recalling the incident on March 31, Ray said he walked “a few blocks away” with his friend and that’s when the Uber driver allegedly drove around looking for them.
“He found us. He then got out of the car and started yelling at us, thinking he hadn’t been paid for the Uber but in fact he had been paid for the Uber,” Ray said. “He then got in our faces and was saying, ‘I’m going to call 10 guys.’ We said, ‘We’ve done nothing wrong.’ He then started an altercation with us.”
A spokesperson for Uber told Good Morning America that “the driver reported to Uber that he was assaulted by two riders.”
“We were both just very shocked about the fact that we were being arrested over this incident,” Ray said. “We had done nothing wrong. We were the victims of an attack.”
Ray described the conditions of the Danish prison he was detained in for two weeks.
“There were two of us in a pretty small jail cell in bunk beds. We spent 23 hours a day in the cell. We had one hour a day of yard time. We were allowed to make one phone call a week,” Ray said.
Ray added that he is not “entirely sure” about the current status of his legal case and claimed that the Danish legal system “hasn’t been entirely clear about what’s happening.”
“As far as I know at the moment we’re still waiting for either the investigating police to decide not to pursue the case or for a trial date to be set,” he added.
Ray and his friend, who wants to remain anonymous, have to report daily to police until their court hearing, which is scheduled for April 24.
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