Supreme Court: Ahmed Samsam collaborated with Danish intelligence services

The Supreme Court, in a ruling issued today, established that Ahmed Samsam collaborated with the Danish intelligence services during his travels to Syria in 2013 and 2014.

In 2018, Ahmed Samsam was sentenced to eight years in prison by a Spanish court for involvement in a terrorist organization. According to the Spanish judgment, he had participated in armed conflicts in Syria in the years 2012, 2013, and 2014. His appeal was later rejected by the Spanish courts. In 2020, the Glostrup Court decided that the sentence should be served in Denmark with a prison term of six years.

Samsam explained that his travels in 2013 and 2014 were done in collaboration with and for payment from first the Danish Security and Intelligence Service (PET) and then the Danish Defence Intelligence Service (FE).

The Supreme Court addressed two main questions in the case: whether Samsam had a legal interest in having the case tried in the courts, and whether he could prove that the collaboration with intelligence services had actually taken place.

As a general principle, the Supreme Court stated that considerations for the confidentiality of intelligence services mean that individuals cannot normally demand court review of whether they have acted as sources. However, this principle can be deviated from in special cases.

The Supreme Court found that the case against Samsam was such a special case. It was emphasized, among other things, that the question of collaboration could have implications for a potential reopening of the Spanish judgment, and that Spanish courts had previously based their assessments on information from Danish authorities that Samsam had not collaborated with intelligence services.

After a comprehensive assessment of testimonies and documentation, the Supreme Court concluded that Samsam had proven that during his trips to Syria in 2013 and 2014, he collaborated with the Danish intelligence services and received remuneration and other benefits for collecting information about Danish fighters in Syria.

The court decided that the Danish Security and Intelligence Service and the Danish Defence Intelligence Service should acknowledge that Samsam collaborated with the intelligence services during his travels to Syria in 2013 and 2014, and that he received remuneration and other benefits in return for his efforts.

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