Danish whistleblower: I should have been acquitted

international | anti-war / imperialism | news report Saturday September 24, 2005 16:05 by Dr. Coilín Oscar ÓhAiseadha

Grevil will now appeal the the European Court of Human Rights

At the conclusion of an appeal against the six-month prison sentence passed last November, the Danish High Court today gave former Danish intelligence officer Frank Grevil a reduced sentence of four months. Grevil was put on trial for disclosing classified threat assessments that raised questions about the basis for the Danish government´s decision to participate in the invasion of Iraq in March 2003.

Below is a translation from a Danish news service.

Grevil: I should have been acquitted

Frank Grevil thinks the sentence of four months’ prison is a poor compromise relative to his wish to be acquitted. He will now appeal the sentence.

After the verdict, Grevil did not conceal the fact that he would have been happy with a suspended sentence. But the former intelligence agent pointed out that a suspended sentence would not acknowledge the fact that there is sometimes a need to leak information, even though it is unpleasant for the government.

Frank Grevil is now prepared to go all the way to the Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg – and thus to the top of the legal system – with his case, because he thinks this would be the only logical step.

“This may eventually mean that Denmark will be given a severe reprimand. And Danish society deserves that also. Among the states that call themselves democracies, the Danish is probably one of the most closed,” says Frank Grevil.

/ritzau/