Ex-informant sparks new PST probe

Claims broadcast nationwide this week by a man who worked as an informant for Norway’s police intelligence unit PST have set off a new probe into whether PST has engaged in illegal surveillance. The investigation is being carried out by the parliamentary commission charged with monitoring the activities of Norway’s secret intelligence-gathering services. The commission (called EOS-utvalget) [...]

US hindered surveillance probe

Police have confirmed that the US Embassy in Oslo hindered a Norwegian government-ordered investigation into its surveillance practices in the capital. Police involved in the investigation have admitted to newspaper Dagens Næringsliv (DN) that their lack of access to information collected by the Americans made their probe difficult to complete. State prosecutor Jørn Maurud announced [...]

Norway drops US surveillance case

Public outcry last fall over allegedly illegal surveillance of Norwegian citizens by the US Embassy in Oslo has ended with silent acceptance of the embassy’s activities by Norwegian authorities. They’ve decided against filing any charges against the US and its embassy personnel in Oslo, claiming they lacked evidence that any laws had in fact been [...]

Treholt demands apology for illegal surveillance

Arne Treholt, the former Norwegian diplomat convicted of spying for the Soviet Union and Iraq, said Tuesday he was glad to hear that the surveillance of his home carried out by Norwegian police and intelligence agents back in the mid-1980s has been deemed illegal. He now expects an apology and compensation. The long spy drama [...]

Treholt vows to take case further

Convicted Cold War spy Arne Treholt has told the Norwegian media that he is considering a number of options for having his case re-opened, after Norway’s Criminal Cases Review Commission rejected his application to have the near 30-year-old conviction taken up again in court. Meanwhile, bitter recriminations have already begun among Treholt’s supporters, the police [...]

US Embassy resumes its surveillance

The US Embassy in Oslo, which has been at the center of several controversies in recent years, plans to resume its surveillance activities but promises to abide by Norwegian laws this time. The embassy got into trouble with local officials and politicians last fall after TV2 reported that it had a secret surveillance unit that [...]

Police can finally question US embassy staff

Norwegian civilians who have conducted surveillance for the US Embassy in Oslo must finally submit to questioning by Norwegian police. The surveillance itself is under investigation because of concerns it was illegal. Police have been stymied for months in their attempts to probe the surveillance that was carried out for many years by the embassy. [...]

Police lose patience with Americans

UPDATED: Norwegian police and some local politicians have lost patience with US officials at both the embassy in Oslo and in Washington DC. The Norwegians believe the Americans are hindering a police investigation of the US Embassy’s suspected illegal surveillance of Norwegian citizens. The police investigation of the highly controversial surveillance, revealed by TV2 last fall, [...]

Ambassador breaks WikiLeaks silence

US Ambassador Barry White has been complaining about Oslo-based newspaper Aftenposten for months and finally went public with his criticism of Norway’s largest daily on Monday, in Aftenposten itself. He thinks the paper’s use of WikiLeaks documents is inappropriate. White has been unhappy over coverage in Aftenposten and a vast array of other Norwegian media [...]

Police director quits as embassy probe remains stalled

She’d recently signed on for another term, but the head of Norway’s state police directorate, Ingelin Killengreen, is quitting after all. Her resignation comes in the midst of a probe into controversial surveillance by the US Embassy that Killengreen has said she knew nothing about. The probe, meanwhile, remains stalled because the US Embassy still [...]

Embassies must clear security plans

Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said Wednesday that embassies located in Oslo have been told to inform local authorities about any extraordinary security measures they intend to install. Neither Støre nor Justice Minister Knut Storberget nor his predecessor, Odd Einar Dørum, were aware of a surveillance program at the US Embassy that has upset politicians [...]

More harsh truths from WikiLeaks

NEWS ANALYSIS: A new batch of confidential documents made available by website WikiLeaks, and mostly stemming from the US Embassy in Oslo, reveal more harsh US criticism of Norway’s left-center coalition government. US diplomats haven’t been at all happy with various Norwegian foreign policy initiatives in recent years, and have unleashed harsh personal characterizations about [...]

Foreign Minister discussed surveillance with Hillary Clinton

Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre met with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday and among topics on the agenda was the controversial surveillance conducted by the Americans in Oslo over the past 10 years. Støre told Norwegian media that he hadn’t intended to bring up other touchy subjects of late, such as the [...]

Computer security chief resigns

Government communications systems have been under fire in recent months over inadequate security measures. Now the man in charge of them has resigned, along with his colleague in charge of information and communications technology. Newspaper Aftenposten, which has written several articles about the lack of computer security around high-level government communications, reported Wednesday that Ivar [...]

US blasts Norway’s anti-terror efforts, minister rejects criticism

Norwegian Justice Minister Knut Storberget reacted strongly on Tuesday to critical remarks about Norway’s anti-terrorism efforts made by the US ambassador to Norway and revealed in documents made available by WikiLeaks. The documents, reported by newspaper VG and its website VG Nett on Tuesday, draw more unwanted and potentially embarrassing attention to the US Embassy [...]

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