Leading Danish right-wing populist Morten Messerschmidt was given a six-month suspended prison sentence on Friday for misusing European Union (EU) money and forging documents.
The deputy head of the Danish People’s Party (DF) hastily denied the charges.
His defence lawyer Peter Trudso announced an appeal immediately after the verdict was announced.
The case against Messerschmidt, a former member of the European Parliament, has dragged on for several years and is linked to Meld, an alliance of Eurosceptic parties which was dissolved in 2015 and a related foundation called Feld.
Messerschmidt was accused of making false statements about a non-existent EU conference at a DF meeting in 2015, in order to receive EU funds worth almost 100,000 krone (15,900 dollars).
However, for the former Meld chairman Messerschmidt, the case was about more than acquittal or conviction, as he is seen as a beacon of hope in his crisis-ridden party.
In the last parliamentary election in 2019, the right-wing populist party plummeted from 21.1 to 8.7 per cent of the vote.
