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Denmark: End of university scandals?

01 January 1995

The results of the still confidential report prepared by Professor Vagn Greve of Copenhagen University shows that information - names, addresses and identity numbers - of 40,000 students were illegally passed to the Police Intelligence Service by the university administration (see Statewatch, vol 4 nos 1, 3, & 6). Two former officials and Lars-Erik Allin were found to be responsible. Lars-Erik Allin, the legal consultant to the university rector, had to leave his job. The former rector, Ove Nathan, was found not to be responsible for passing the information.

Lars-Erik Allin was also the person who told a journalist on Ekstrabladet that the "Studenthouse" in Copenhagen was being used for extreme, dangerous and terroristic students groups. The "Studenthouse" in Copenhagen is an important gathering place and houses lots of student activities, interest groups and a cafe. The newspaper article in 1993 led to a temporary closure of the "Studenthouse" and the permanent exclusion of certain groups such as "Students against racism". In January this year the Data Protection Agency criticised the university for making these allegations.

The so-called "bugging scandal" also involved Lars-Erik Allin. He claimed that Professor Gammeltoft-Hansens telephone and room at the university were bugged. Parts of the confidential report by public prosecutor Erik Merlung have also been leaked. Merlung, it is said, has concluded that the "bugging" was mere fantasy on Allin's part alluding to his publicly diagnosed psychotic state. Confusion now surrounds the "bugging" claim. Merlung's conclusions have received wide publicity yet these have to be set against Gammeltoft-Hansen's view that Mossad may have been responsible - a view backed by Victor Ostrovsky, an Israel-Canadian author and former agent for Mossad.