Supreme Court to assess door closure

Denmark’s Supreme Court will assess the closing of the doors in the cases against former head of the Danish Defence Intelligence Service (FE) Lars Findsen and former Defence Minister Claus Hjort Frederiksen, the Process Appropriations Board wrote on its website. Both men have been charged with leaking state secrets, and both have pleaded not guilty. They also both share the desire for their case to be dealt with in public.
     When the Supreme Court assesses the cases, it specifically means that the Appeals Licensing Board has granted permission to do so. Hjort Frederiksen also confirms that he has been granted access to the Supreme Court in a post on Facebook. “To my great delight, I have just been granted permission to bring the decision on door closure to the Supreme Court. I am sorry for the cover-up of my case. I want full publicity,” he writes.
     Court hearings are generally public. But the court may choose to close its doors if a consideration warrants it. This could, for example, be considerations of police investigation or national security. Both the district court and the high court rejected the idea that the cases could run in public. The case against Findsen is scheduled to begin on 30 October this year and last until March next year. It will be heard by the Court in Lyngby. Hjort Frederiksen’s case begins on 7 November this year in Copenhagen City Court and will be heard over 12 court days.
     Hjort Frederiksen is charged with five counts of making statements which, in the prosecution’s opinion, constitute a violation of section 109 of the Danish Penal Code on disclosure of state secrets. Findsen is charged with six offences. The five relate to the leak of state secrets. /ritzau/