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Denmark - Those under the age of 18 given option to join the Viking Defence League by Hells Angels bikers
The Hells Angels bikers have been in the spotlight of the authorities for some time, but now they have awakened even more concern by founding a youth group for children and teens.
Hells Angels spokesman Jørn Jønke Nielsen told BT newspaper that the Viking Defence League offers an option for those who are too young to join the official bikers' support group AK81.
'We don't take people under the age of 18 into AK81. So this is a place for people who are maybe a little too young to become AK81 members or for people who just want to support us a bit. So they can sort of come in and check out the environment,' Nielsen said.
But Nielsen added that the club will not be bringing members on visits to Hells Angels club houses.
Head of the police's National Centre of Investigation, Kim Kliver, has expressed concern that the club is no more than a feeder group for future Hells Angels members.
'Children can't see the consequence of being a part of it, or criticise the requirements for being in that environment. There is a very great danger that they will end up involved in criminality and become part of the armed conflicts taking place right now,' he said.
New members who join the club pay an annual fee of 300 kroner and get a t-shirt with the club's logo on it. So far, more than 500 people have expressed support for the Viking Defence League on the group's recently created Facebook page.
Justice minister Lars Barfoed has described the club as a 'giant provocation to the rest of society'.
'I'm ready to look at all the options we have to prevent recruitment to the criminal environment,' the minister said this week, as both his government and opposition parliamentary colleagues gave him their backing.
