What happens in the intelligence of Denmark
The director of Denmark's external intelligence agency was accused of treason against the state. The article by Giuseppe Gagliano
In one case that observers described as "unprecedented", the director of the Danish external intelligence agency was accused of committing acts of treason against the state.
Lars Findsen headed the Danish Defense Intelligence Service (FE, or DDIS in English) from 2015 until his sudden dismissal in 2020. Previously, he headed the national counterpart of the DDIS, namely the Danish Security and Intelligence Service, or DSIS. . Findsen had been fired from his DDIS post in August 2020. His dismissal was announced in a brief statement from the Danish Defense Ministry, which simply stated that Findsen had been "relieved of his post for the time being", in waiting for an investigation.
It has now been revealed that Findsen was among the four current and former members of the DDIS and DSIS who were arrested last month. The Danish government made use of an obscure secrecy clause to prevent the nation's media from reporting the arrests. As a result, Findsen's whereabouts wasn't known until Monday, when a court lifted the reporting ban after a closed-door hearing. Shortly thereafter, the Danish Broadcasting Corporation, the Danish public broadcaster, reported that Findsen was arrested on the morning of December 8, 2021, at Copenhagen airport.
According to the report, Findsen was charged with acts of treason related to disclosing state secrets to Danish journalists. In 2020, Findsen's dismissal was likely related both to the fact that the DDIS had gathered information in violation of Danish privacy law and because intelligence agencies had secretly helped the United States spy on Western countries, including France, Sweden, Germany. and Holland.
The aforementioned revelation has drawn strong criticism of Danish intelligence services across Europe. Reports said last night that the other three current and former intelligence members arrested alongside Findsen had been released on bail. Findsen, however, remains in detention and faces charges that include 12 years in prison if confirmed.
Speaking to reporters after his indictment in court, Findsen said he was looking forward to challenging the charges against him, which he described as "absolutely insane." We would like to ask ourselves a question: is it simply a scapegoat to hide the secret collaboration between Denmark and the United States? Reflecting on this case one cannot help but think – once again – of the espionage practices carried out on a global scale by the NSA.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/intelligence-danimarca-tradimento/ on Fri, 14 Jan 2022 09:36:42 +0000.