All cases related to information leaks against the former intelligence chief and former defense minister have been dropped.
According to a press release issued by the Public Prosecutor's Office a short while ago, the Public Prosecutor's Office has decided that the trial of former intelligence chief Lars Findsen, former Liberal minister Claus Hjort Fredriksen (in a separate case), and the 63-year-old former employee of PET cannot be completed. The statement reads: "The Defence Intelligence Service (FE) assesses that it is no longer safe to make highly classified information available for the criminal proceedings against Lars Findsen and Claus Hjort Fredriksen for reasons of national security," because the Supreme Court has decided that none of the three cases will be held behind closed doors.
According to State Attorney Jakob Berger Nielsen, the prosecution has no opportunity to raise the burden of proof in the cases if it is not possible to provide the confidential information, as reported by TV2. The confidential information is of very central importance in these cases, and without the possibility of presenting it to the court, the prosecution has no opportunity to prove its case. Therefore, the prosecution recommended to the Minister of Justice not to proceed with the cases, and the Minister agreed to this, and thus the proceedings were closed.
The Supreme Court agreed to the request of the two individuals accused of disclosing state secrets to have the trial open to the public, which is completely against the wishes of the prosecution, as the prosecution stated that highly confidential information and evidence relating to state secrets could not be presented in a public trial before the public and the press, including the public reading of the indictments against Lars Findsen and Klaus Hjort Fredriksen, and therefore the prosecution had no option but to withdraw the case.
About a year after what was considered a scandal in the intelligence service and the Ministry of Defense in two separate cases, the case was closed today, unless the required majority in the Danish parliament demands investigations.
One of the cases concerns former Defense Minister Claus Hjort Frederiksen, who previously served in the Liberal Party government. The case against him stems from comments he made in a TV2 interview last December, during which he alluded to secret cooperation between Denmark and the United States. However, the former Defense Minister asserted that the case is fundamentally political, stating: “The case was brought from the top. It was initiated by Barbara Bertelsen, a department head in the Prime Minister’s office, and I don’t assume it wasn’t discussed with the Prime Minister (Mette Frederiksen).” According to the source, if convicted, he could have faced a prison sentence of up to 12 years.
Parties demand investigation
According to the source, the Liberal Alliance party will investigate the entire process in the case brought against former Liberal minister Claus Hjort Fredriksen, which was dropped by the prosecution on Wednesday: “This case raises more and more questions. Why did you act this way towards Claus Hjort? It is a question that I think you should have an answer to,” says the party’s legal representative, Steffen Larsen.
The Radical Party of Venstre also wants an investigation into the entire process surrounding the cases of Klaus Hjort Fredriksen and Lars Findsen: “Now is the time for a thorough investigation into the entire process. A commission investigation, which we hope will also start quickly, because there is no longer any excuse. It is a scandalous affair, just because four managers were sent home without cause. It is absolutely insane,” according to the party’s political leader, Martin Lidegaard.
The Justice Minister has now also announced that they are prepared to conduct further investigations.
