Denmark's prosecution authority on Tuesday said it had charged a former member of the Danish parliament with leaking highly classified state secrets.

Claus Hjort Frederiksen, who was defense minister from 2016 to 2019, confirmed via Facebook that he had been charged, but denied any wrongdoing.

What did Danish prosecutors say?

The charges are thought to be based on his public statements about a secret surveillance agreement between Denmark and the US National Security Agency (NSA).

The public prosecutor said the country's justice minister has agreed to a recommendation that charges be brought against a former lawmaker, whom it did not name.

The charges, under a rarely used section of the penal code that carries a maximum sentence of 12 years in prison, were for "divulging or passing on secrets of importance to the state."

The prosecutor's statement said the defendant had passed on information "in multiple cases."

Frederiksen said Danish intelligence helped US spy on Merkel

In a series of interviews in 2020 and 2021, the former lawmaker alleged that the Danish Defense Intelligence Service had helped the NSA listen in on leaders of Germany, France, Sweden, and Norway. Among those targeted was former German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The disclosure that the US had been spying on its allies first came to light in 2013, but a European media investigation published in 2021 said Denmark's secret service had been involved. 

"This is not acceptable between allies, and even less between allies and European partners," French President Emmanuel Macron said at the time.

Hjort Frederiksen later said he faced preliminary charges for revealing secret cable cooperation with the US.

He said in 2021 that he was risking a prison sentence for making the allegations.

The government asked lawmakers in 2022 to remove Hjort Frederiksen's parliamentary immunity, but a majority opposed the move because they did not know the charges.

Because he did not run again for the election in November, Hjort Frederiksen's parliamentary immunity lapsed.

"The path is clear for the justice minister to decide to follow the prosecution's recommendation to bring charges," the former minister wrote on his Facebook profile this past weekend.

rc/wd (AFP, AP, Reuters)