COPENHAGEN, Denmark: An official at the highest level of the Denmark government has been charged with leaking state secrets.

Claus Hjort Frederiksen, a former Defense Minister and now a opposition lawmaker, acknowledged that he is under investigation.

Frederiksen, who previously served as chairman of the Intelligence Services Committee, said he has been charged with “violating the limits of my freedom of speech.”

“I have spoken out as a Member of Parliament on a political issue, and I have nothing further to add at present,” Fredriksen said in a statement. “But I could never dream of doing anything that could harm Denmark or Denmark’s interests.”

The news about Frederiksen comes days after the arrest of Denmark’s former spy chief, Lars Findsen, due to similar allegations.

Both men face a maximum sentence of 12 years in prison.

Findsen was one of four suspects arrested on December 9 after what the Danish Security and Intelligence Service said was “a long investigation of leaks” within intelligence services.

Those arrested in December were current and former employees of the intelligence service, along with employees of the Danish Defense Intelligence Service.

The trial is being held behind closed doors and few details have been disclosed.