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Sweden to probe illegal US spying

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

London, Nov 9, IRNA -- Sweden is launching a formal investigation into the legality of information gathering activities carried out by the US embassy in Stockholm without the country’s knowledge, Swedish media said on Tuesday.

Chief prosecutor on security issues, Tomas Lindstrand, said he would determine whether intelligence laws were violated by the US actions, including what officials described as photographing and gathering information about individuals in Sweden.

“It’s my responsibility to launch a preliminary investigation into whether there is reason to believe a crime has been committed,” Lindstrand said.

The announcement comes after Swedish Justice Minister Beatrice Ask said over the weekend that the US embassy in Stockholm had secretly spied on Swedish residents in the capital since 2000.

Last week, Norway also asked the United States to clarify surveillance activities following a TV report suggesting it had systematically monitored Norwegian residents during the past 10 years.

According to The Local, the Stockholm-based English news service, Lindstrand said that it was “appropriate to investigate whether a crime was committed and in this one has to be thorough” but refused to comment how long the investigation may take.

His office said the probe will be conducted with the assistance of Swedish security service Säpo, but added that the case was classified and no further information would be released for the time being.

Gothenburg University law professor Dennis Töllborg suggested that the crime most likely to be the subject of the investigation is that of conducting unauthorised intelligence activities.

“Unauthorised intelligence activities are likely to be what we’re talking about here. That’s if someone, in secret or through ‘deceptive measures’, collects information about someone else’s personal situation for a foreign power,” Töllborg said.

Swedish officials have said they knew the US embassy applied security measures in its immediate neighbourhood, but not that Swedish citizens were monitored.

A spokesperson for the US embassy in Stockholm denied the activities were secret but said the mission welcomed the Lindstrand's decision to open a probe into the programme.

'The embassy is very open about this programme and we’re very willing to cooperate with the prosecutor’s office in any way we can,' US embassy deputy press attaché Ryan Koch told The Local.

“We understand Swedish concerns and are trying to be as open as we can so we can clear up any misunderstandings,' Koch said