Danish Clubs Bar Migrants In Language Row

Some nightclubs in Denmark are reportedly refusing entry to migrants unless they speak either Danish, English or German.

It comes after claims that asylum seekers and refugees have been harassing female guests.

Women in at least three Danish cities, Thisted, Haderslev and Sonderborg, have recently reported they feel uncomfortable at night because of how some migrants behave in bars and clubs.

Clubgoer Stephanie Kleis Nielsen in Sonderborg told TV SYD: "I feel inconvenienced because they want to reach us all the time and they do not understand an answer.

"They stare and are very pushy.

"I have experienced standing outside a nightclub where my hair was pulled and it is uncomfortable that people need to tinker with me.

"It is tiresome and annoying. If they must be in the nightlife, so they must learn how to behave in Denmark."

It comes in the wake of dozens of alleged assaults on women by migrants in Cologne , Germany, on New Year's Eve.

And German town Bornheim has banned male asylum seekers from a public swimming pool after women complained they were being sexually harassed.

Some drinking premises in Denmark are believed to have brought in extra security guards while others have decided to keep out guests who are unable to communicate with staff.

Among the clubs that have adopted the new policy is reportedly the Buddy Holly discotheque in Sonderborg where no one can enter unless they can speak either Danish, English or German.

Several others are considering a similar move, said industry group Danmarks Restauranter og Cafeer, which has over 1,500 members nationwide.

"If you have a group of guests that comes in and displays threatening behaviour then it presents some security-related challenges if you cannot enter into a dialogue," its managing director, Torben Hoffmann Rosenstock, told TV2.

But Amnesty International has hit out at the language policy, saying it is discriminatory.

Claus Juul told Sky News: "We acknowledged the need to protect the rights of women - the right to interact and move around publicly, and the need to educate newcomers about the gender equality situation in Denmark.

"At the same time, however, a state of law cannot resort to general prohibitions and restriction aimed at particular groups exclusively on grounds of their national or regional origin."

He claimed that bars were using security reasons as a cover to indirectly discriminate against migrants.

"This type of action has to be rejected," he said, urging Danes "not to do this to minorities and sink to that level".

Earlier this month, Denmark and Sweden tightened border checks to stem the flow of migrants coming from Germany.

The Danish government announced it was stepping up controls of its border with Germany, to make sure migrants heading for Sweden do not get stuck in Denmark.

"The government doesn't want Denmark to become a new big destination for refugees," Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen said.

Sweden demanded all passengers travelling by train from Denmark show identification, something that has not been required since the 1950s.

The moves come after more than one million migrants, including from conflict-hit Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, entered the EU in 2015.