Former Danish Defense Minister Klaus Jρrg Frederiksen said today that he had been charged with violating an article of the Penal Code alleging treason for leaking state secrets.
The charges against Fredericksen, who served as Secretary of Defense from 2016 to 2019, were based on the infrequently used Article 109 of the Code, which carries a maximum sentence of 12 years in prison, although it has become clear what exactly the charges are.
Article 109 covers any “person who discloses or transmits any information about secret negotiations, discussions or decisions of a State or of its rights in relation to foreign States”. In a statement issued today, Frederiksen did not specify what the charges were against him or whether the charges related to his time as minister.
“I have spoken as a member of parliament on a political issue and I have nothing else to add at the moment. “But I could never have imagined that I could have done something that could harm Denmark or Denmark's interests,” Frederiksen said in a statement.
It was not clear what comments Fredericksen made in his statement. The prosecutor's office and the Ministry of Defense refused to comment on Fredericksen's statement.
The news comes after the head of Denmark's foreign intelligence unit was arrested last month, charged under the same Article of the Penal Code with suspected involvement in a case of leaking “top secret” information. Lars Finzen denies any wrongdoing, describing the charge as “completely absurd”.
