Denmark: Ex-spy chief charged with leaking state secrets
September 16, 2022
Danish prosecutors on Friday formally charged the country's former military intelligence chief with leaking state secrets, following a scandal over Denmark's cooperation with US intelligence.
Lars Findsen, who was in the post from 2015 until his abrupt suspension in 2020, is accused of "having divulged secrets important to national security on several occasions and... under particularly aggravated circumstances."
If convicted, he faces up to four years in prison.
No public explanation was offered at the time of his suspension. He was then held in custody from December 2021 to February 2022 while under investigation.
"I never divulged any state secrets. I reject the allegations", he told Danish news agency Ritzau in June, criticising the handling of the case as "ridiculous."
Prosecutors say that Findsen leaked state secrets and other confidential information to six people, including two journalists.
The leaks could "harm relations with other intelligence service partners and make their work more difficult if their work methods were revealed", prosecutor Jakob Berger Nielsen said.
Prosecutors said they would request a trial behind closed doors due to the sensitive material at the heart of the case.
Reports: Danish intelligence collaborated with the NSA
The details of the investigation are classified, but the case comes after Danish media reported that the Danish intelligence services had cooperated with the US National Security Agency (NSA).
In May 2021, an investigation by several Danish media revealed that the NSA used Danish underwater cables to spy on officials in France, Germany, Norway and Sweden until at least 2014. Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel was one of these officials.
The revelations sparked an international scandal and the four countries demanded explanations from Washington and Copenhagen.
The leaks could "harm relations with other intelligence service partners and make their work more difficult if their work methods were revealed", prosecutor Jakob Berger Nielsen said.
es/kb (AP, AFP)