COPENHAGEN, Denmark — A Danish former protection minister who had publicly claimed that Denmark’s secret service helped U.S. intelligence spy on a number of European leaders stated Tuesday he has been charged with divulging state secrets and techniques.

Denmark’s prosecution authority stated the nation’s justice minister has agreed to the advice that costs be introduced in opposition to a former lawmaker, whom it didn’t title, for “divulging or passing on secrets and techniques of significance to the state.”

“The case consists of extremely categorized data that can’t be introduced overtly,” prosecutor Jakob Berger Nielsen stated in a press release. “Whatever the nice public curiosity, within the opinion of the general public prosecutor’s workplace, there may be clearly a heavier consideration to be given to the work of the intelligence service.”

Public DR broadcaster and different media named the suspect as Claus Hjort Frederiksen, a 75-year-old former protection minister who retired from politics final 12 months. He later confirmed that on Fb.

In a number of interviews in 2020 and 2021, Hjort Frederiksen alleged that the Danish Protection Intelligence Service — which is liable for abroad actions — had helped the NSA snoop on leaders in Germany, France, Sweden and Norway, together with former German chancellor Angela Merkel. He later stated he confronted preliminary costs for revealing the key cable cooperation with the U.S.

In an interview with DR in December 2021, Hjort Frederiksen stated “I need to danger a jail sentence” for making the allegations.

In 2022, the federal government requested lawmakers to take away the parliamentary immunity of Hjort Frederiksen however a majority opposed the transfer as a result of it was not identified what he was suspected of.

“I didn’t run once more for the election (in late 2022) and my parliamentary immunity has thus lapsed,” Hjort Frederiksen wrote on his Fb profile on Feb. 18. “So the trail is evident for the justice minister to determine to comply with the prosecution’s advice to carry costs.”

Hjort Frederiksen was protection minister from November 2016 to June 2019, and earlier held the finance and employment portfolios. For years, he was a senior member of the Liberal Celebration and left parliament in November to retire.

No trial date has been set.