Officials investigate snoop agency leak
Sweden’s Chancellor of Justice has launch an investigation into the leaking of a classified document by an employee of the National Defence Radio Establishment (Försvarets Radioanstalt - FRA).
FRA believes that one of its employees handed over classified documents to Sveriges Television in violation of rules governing the handling of secret information by Sweden’s public sector employees.
On June 16th Sveriges Television’s news programme Rapport published document on its website which had previously been published on FRA’s internal website in March of last year.
The documents details a question time held at FRA in February 2007 and the agency suspects that one of its employees passed along the document to Rapport where it was reworked.
As a result, FRA filed a complaint to the Chancellor of Justice (JK) asking it to investigate if the handing over of the document constituted a crime against freedom of expression.
According to FRA, the document is a public secret according to Sweden’s secrecy laws.
In a partial ruling issued on Friday, the JK stated that there is reason to believe that a crime against the duty to protect secrecy was committed when the document was handed over and has launched an investigation into the matter.
The Chancellor has given Thomas Lindstrand, head prosecutor of the Swedish Prosecution Authority’s office for security cases, responsibility for carrying out the investigation as to whether a crime was committed.
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FRA believes that one of its employees handed over classified documents to Sveriges Television in violation of rules governing the handling of secret information by Sweden’s public sector employees.
On June 16th Sveriges Television’s news programme Rapport published document on its website which had previously been published on FRA’s internal website in March of last year.
The documents details a question time held at FRA in February 2007 and the agency suspects that one of its employees passed along the document to Rapport where it was reworked.
As a result, FRA filed a complaint to the Chancellor of Justice (JK) asking it to investigate if the handing over of the document constituted a crime against freedom of expression.
According to FRA, the document is a public secret according to Sweden’s secrecy laws.
In a partial ruling issued on Friday, the JK stated that there is reason to believe that a crime against the duty to protect secrecy was committed when the document was handed over and has launched an investigation into the matter.
The Chancellor has given Thomas Lindstrand, head prosecutor of the Swedish Prosecution Authority’s office for security cases, responsibility for carrying out the investigation as to whether a crime was committed.
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