Former heads of IT and communications at the Defence Command are charged with dereliction of duty

The Defence Command’s Judge Advocate General’s office has charged two officers in connection with the publication of the controversial book by former Special Forces soldier Thomas Rathsack.

Navy Captain Jesper Britze, who headed the IT department, and Lt. Col Lars Sønderskov, who was the command’s head of communications have been charged with a severe dereliction of duty.

Britze has already admitted to producing the translation of the book into Arabic, but has not responded to the latest charges, reports Politiken newspaper.

Sønderskov was suspended from his job after it emerged he was the one who sent the translated version to a national tabloid newspaper. The Lt. Col. has pleaded not guilty to the JAG’s charge, which in the worst case could lead to one year’s imprisonment.

Niels Christiansen of JAG said he would not rule out bringing further charges in the case.

When the tabloid revealed that the book, which details military operations, had been translated to Arabic, it strengthened the military’s position that the book was dangerous.

Top military chief Tim Sloth Jørgensen has resigned as a result of the controversy.