A former Danish defense minister is on trial for allegedly leaking state secrets. Viborg prosecutors on Tuesday charged ex-minister Claus Hjort Frederiksen with allegations that he had repeatedly divulged or passed on secrets relevant to the state’s security.
Hjort is said to have violated the rarely used Danish criminal law paragraph 109, said the responsible public prosecutor Jakob Berger Nielsen. It is not yet clear when the process will begin. What exactly the ex-minister is said to have revealed is also not publicly known.
Hjort confirmed the charges against him, but immediately denied the allegations. “I deny having overstepped the bounds of my sweeping freedom of expression as a politician,” he wrote on Facebook. “I have not revealed any alleged state secrets. Point.”
Hjort was Danish Defense Minister for the liberal-conservative party Venstre from 2016 to 2019. The experienced politician himself announced in early 2022 that he was accused of revealing or passing on state secrets. However, there was no majority in the Danish parliament to lift his immunity without knowing exactly what he was to be charged with. This protected him as an MP from a court case.
Hjort did not stand for re-election in the most recent general election in November, which means that he no longer has any immunity.
It is still unclear exactly what confidential information Hjort is said to have revealed. Danish media had reported in the past that the case could have something to do with cooperation between Denmark and the US intelligence agency NSA. Hjort has confirmed this cooperation several times. (dpa)
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