Reacts to dismissal by PST

Ministry of Defense HV PST PoliceNational Guard helps local police in securing an object. Photo: forsvaret.no

The Ministry of Defense reacts to PST dismissal

The Police Security Service (PST) dismissed a report from the Ministry of Defense in June regarding a leak to Dagens Næringsliv.  Head of Department dislikes this.

 

– According to the view of the Ministry of Defense, it is unfortunate that the case is dismissed with the reasoning  there is absence of a “reasonable reason” to investigate the existence of a criminal offense, says Arne Røksund, Head of Department, in a letter to PST to which VG has been granted access to.

Furthermore, he writes that “this weakens respect for the provisions of the Security Act on the secrecy of information that must be protected for safety reasons”.

The Ministry of Defense reported the case after Dagens Næringsliv published a series of articles regarding criticism from the Office of the Auditor General against the Armed Forces in April.

Intended for publication

Department director in PST, Beate Gangås, says they are familiar with the ministry’s view on the matter, but have not complained about the dismissal to a higher prosecutor’s office.

– The dismissal can in no way be interpreted as a general attitude that security breaches is not taken sufficiently seriously by PST, says Gangås.

According to the newspaper, the documents were intended for publication, but were marked as confidential by the ministry.

©  NTB Scanpix / Norway Today