A Civilized Country

A forensic drama and a psychological thriller about a democratic state’s ability to examine its own role in a complicated war.

Jørgen Lange Thomsen is a forensic expert, used to examining the dead and determining how they died. But one day he is hired to solve a different type of case that involves a group of Iraqis who claim to have been subject to torture during the Iraq war – and under the International troops watch.

The case is of political importance and the forensic expert’s conclusion is vital to whether the case ends up in court, accusing the Danish State of war crimes in Iraq. The lawyer who runs the case for the 11 civilian Iraqis is convinced he has a strong case. But things are not going the way he planned; while the minister of defence is doing what he can to prevent the case going to court – a “whistle-blower” suddenly enters the stage – and the case takes yet another twist.