Charges in store for ex-Danish official

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Denmark’s top prosecuting authority said Thursday that it would seek to have a former defense minister’s parliamentary immunity lifted so he could be charged with illegally disclosing “highly classified information.”

The office of the director of public prosecutions said it would contact Denmark’s parliament, the Folketing, regarding the immunity of Claus Hjort Frederiksen. He served as the country’s defense minister from November 2016 to June 2019.

Details of the accusations against Hjort Frederiksen could not be given because of “the special nature of the case” that involves sensitive information, the Danish Ministry of Justice said in a statement.

Hjort Frederiksen, who has been a lawmaker in parliament since 2005 and is a senior member of Denmark’s opposition Liberals, faces up to 12 years in prison if convicted of the unauthorized disclosure of highly classified information.

Danish media have speculated the case might be linked to allegations that Denmark’s foreign secret service helped the United States spy on European leaders, including former German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

In a December television interview, Hjort Frederiksen spoke about a secret eavesdropping deal the United States and Denmark made in the late 1990s.

“I must risk a prison sentence. … I have informed [Danish officials] that this agreement existed,” he said.

The deal gave the Danish intelligence community “a lot of useful information” and the status of “a trusted partner” of the U.S., Hjort Frederiksen said.