Denmark drops charges on leaking state secrets against ex-MOD minister, spy chief

Denmark has dismissed charges against a former defense minister and a former intelligence chief related to allegations of leaking classified information due to court decisions that would require top-secret evidence to be made public.

As reported by Reuters, Claus Hjort Frederiksen, the former minister, and Lars Findsen, the former head of the Danish Defence Intelligence Service, had been charged under an infrequently used section of the penal code that carries a maximum 12-year prison sentence.

The charges were dropped following a series of Supreme Court verdicts in Denmark, which determined that the trial against the former minister could not be held behind closed doors, thus preventing classified information from being presented in court.

The specific charges were not publicly disclosed, but Claus Hjort Frederiksen suggested in interviews in 2020 and 2021 that the Danish Defense Intelligence Service had assisted the American NSA in eavesdropping on leaders in Germany, France, Sweden, and Norway, including former German Chancellor Angela Merkel.