Denmark’s domestic and foreign intelligence agencies secured a significant legal victory on Wednesday against Ahmed Samsam, a Danish citizen of Syrian origin who had alleged he worked as a spy for them in Syria during 2013 and 2014, monitoring Danish jihadi fighters.
Ahmed Samsam had been convicted in 2018 in Spain, where he received an eight-year sentence for his involvement with the Islamic State group in Syria. Subsequently, he filed a lawsuit against Denmark’s two intelligence agencies, seeking a court order to compel them to acknowledge his service on their behalf in the hopes of reopening his case in Spain.
The Eastern High Court in Copenhagen delivered a verdict stating that Samsam had not presented a convincing case for reopening his legal proceedings in Spain. In response, he promptly appealed this decision to Denmark’s highest court.
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This case has proven to be an embarrassment for the Danish government, which had resisted conducting an inquiry into the matter. An initial parliamentary committee that was established to investigate the claims made by the 34-year-old Danish national was dissolved in June.
Reports from Danish media suggest that this case may be linked to a former defense minister, a former head of the intelligence agency, and a former intelligence operative who allegedly served as Samsam’s handler. These three individuals had faced accusations of leaking confidential information, but the charges against them were dropped earlier this month, further adding to the veil of secrecy surrounding the entire saga.
Both Denmark’s domestic security service, known as PET, and the foreign intelligence service, referred to as FE, have consistently refused to confirm the identities of their informants.
In a joint statement, PET and FE expressed their satisfaction with the outcome and underscored that it was crucial for them to stress that there is no basis for presuming that Ahmed Samsam had been wrongfully convicted in Spain.
Samsam, a former gang member in Denmark with a criminal record, has openly admitted to traveling to Syria in 2012 to fight against the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad. He has consistently denied any association with the Islamic State group, maintaining that he fought alongside a rival group named Kataib Al Iman. Additionally, he claimed to have worked covertly in Syria for PET and later for FE during 2013 and 2014. His purported mission was to gather intelligence on Danish jihadis.
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Samsam alleged that Denmark’s intelligence agencies failed to alert Spanish authorities when he was arrested in 2017 while on vacation in Spain.
In 2018, Spain’s National Court convicted him of being a foreign fighter with IS, citing his involvement in significant battles in Syria, including the 2014 clash for control of the Raqqa airport, which was the former de facto capital of the self-proclaimed IS caliphate. He was also found guilty of charges related to financing terrorism, procuring firearms in Spain, and promoting jihad on social media. His sentence was upheld by a higher court.
Since 2020, Samsam has been serving his sentence in Denmark, where it was reduced to six years, with no additional charges filed by Danish authorities.
