Danish military intelligence head held over leaks
The head of Denmark’s military intelligence has been in prison for a month accused of leaking confidential documents to the media, Danish press reported after a mainly closed-door court hearing on Monday.
The head of intelligence service FE (Forsvarets Efterretningstjeneste), Lars Findsen, pleaded not guilty, and the rest of the proceedings were held in private, newspaper Politiken reported.
Findsen took over as head of the service in 2015 but he and two other senior military intelligence officials were suspended in 2020.
They were accused of hiding "essential and crucial information" and providing "false information to the authorities" amid suspicions his service was conducting illegal surveillance.
Then in December 2021 he was arrested and accused of having leaked "highly confidential" information. The exact charges and nature of the leaks have not been made public.
Media reports say classified information was leaked to the Danish media and that several journalists have been questioned in the course of the inquiry.
Danish officials said on December 9th they had arrested four serving and former members of its two intelligence agencies over the alleged leaks. All detainees apart from Findsen have since been freed.
READ ALSO: Why suspension of intelligence chief is a shock in pragmatic Denmark
Comments
See Also
The head of intelligence service FE (Forsvarets Efterretningstjeneste), Lars Findsen, pleaded not guilty, and the rest of the proceedings were held in private, newspaper Politiken reported.
Findsen took over as head of the service in 2015 but he and two other senior military intelligence officials were suspended in 2020.
They were accused of hiding "essential and crucial information" and providing "false information to the authorities" amid suspicions his service was conducting illegal surveillance.
Then in December 2021 he was arrested and accused of having leaked "highly confidential" information. The exact charges and nature of the leaks have not been made public.
Media reports say classified information was leaked to the Danish media and that several journalists have been questioned in the course of the inquiry.
Danish officials said on December 9th they had arrested four serving and former members of its two intelligence agencies over the alleged leaks. All detainees apart from Findsen have since been freed.
READ ALSO: Why suspension of intelligence chief is a shock in pragmatic Denmark
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.