Two university students, both citizens of the United States, have been released from a Danish prison almost two weeks after they were arrested while visiting Copenhagen on their spring, police said Monday.
Owen Ray, a 19 -year -old who studied at the University of Miami in Ohio, and his unidentified friend was arrested at Copenhagen airport on April 1 for an alleged dispute with an Uber driver last night, Jordan Finfer, a United States headquarters for Ray’s family, said ABC News.
They were released from jail on Monday, Copenhagen police confirmed ABC News. They remain in Denmark, with Ray’s family saying that the Danish authorities took their passports.
“We are relieved that Owen has been released from a Danish prison after the assault not caused that he and his friend suffered at the hands of an Uber driver on March 31,” said his parents, Andy Ray and Sara Buchen-ray, in a statement. “The facts make it 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.”
In an account transmitted to Finfer, who later shared the details with ABC News, Ray said that he and a friend were in an Uber on March 31 when they realized that they had entered the wrong direction for their destination, and the driver allegedly refused to take them anywhere else.
All the parts, Ray, the friend and driver of Uber, finally left the car, and an altercation supposedly occurred, said Finfer, based on Ray’s account.
Finfer says that Ray told him that the driver kicked Ray in the groin, and in response, Ray took him away and the driver fell, the lawyer said, adding that Ray and his friend escaped.
The two students were arrested at Copenhagen airport the next day while trying to return home, Finfer told ABC News. The Local Police arrested them after considering them “flight risks”, claiming they planned to get out of the incident, he said.
Andy and Sara Buchen-ray said their son and his friend “did nothing to instigate the attack.”
“We urge Danish authorities to recognize Owen’s innocence and release him immediately,” they said. “Our family is disconsolate, and we want our son to be his home to celebrate Easter with us this week.”
Owen Ray traveled to Denmark for spring holidays in March 2025.
Ray family
Copenhagen police said the two students were accused of common assault.
Initially they were sentenced to 10 days of detention prior to the trial, which subsequently extended until April 24, said a Copenhagen police spokesman before the release of the students.
An Uber spokesman said in a statement to ABC News on Sunday that “the security of all those who use the Uber application is a priority, and we take the reports of violence very seriously.”
“Any additional question about the investigation must be addressed to the Danish police,” the statement added.
The United States Department of State provided a statement on Sunday by saying: “We are aware of the reports of the media of two US citizens detained in Denmark. The staff of our embassy in Copenhagen is providing consular assistance,” according to ABC Affiliated with Chicago WLS headquarters.
“The department has no higher priority than the safety of US citizens abroad,” he continued. “Due to privacy considerations, we have no more comments.”
Benjamin Siu of ABC News contributed to this report.
