Denmark military intel head held over leaks

COPENHAGEN: The head of Denmark’s military intelligence has been in prison for a month accused of leaking confidential documents to the media, press reported on Monday after a mainly closed-door court hearing.

Danish daily Politiken reported that Findsen had pleaded not guilty, and the rest of the proceedings were held in private. Lars 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 9 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.