Sweden launches criminal investigation of U.S. intelligence activities

Swedish prosecutors launched a formal criminal investigation into "unlawful intelligence activity" conducted by the U.S. Embassy in Stockholm, according to a statement posted Monday on the Swedish Prosecution Authority's website. The statement comes two days after Swedish security police announced they were looking into the activities. The investigation began when U.S. Embassy officials told authorities its employees had been conducting surveillance similar to what was recently discovered in Norway. Head prosecutor Tomas Lindstrand said the criminal investigation concerns actions taken to protect American staff and the United States' post in Stockholm. The criminal investigation will establish whether crimes have been committed, he said.

The scale of surveillance is not known, but according to a security police statement Saturday, operations have been ongoing since 2000. They were conducted without the knowledge of the Foreign Affairs office, the Justice Department, the security or the local police in Sweden, the statement said. "I think it's regrettable they have conducted these activities without informing Swedish authorities." Sweden's Justice Minister Beatrice Ask told reporters Saturday, "I think it is very serious if these activities have been carried out in breach of Swedish law." The U.S. Embassy in Stockholm released a statement Saturday that recognized the existence of a program to detect suspicious activities around U.S. facilities, and pointed to past terrorist attacks as evidence for why such a program is necessary.