Seven people linked to the leftist research collective Redox stand accused of hacking and gathering information on as many as 6,000 people, mostly individuals from the political right.
"It is a serious case about the systematic monitoring of many people based purely on their political affiliation,” said Copenhagen state’s attorney Lise-Lotte Nilas, who brought the charges. “Moreover, the information gathered has apparently in some cases been used to pinpoint victims for assault and vandalism.”
The indictment says that the defendants have hacked the passwords, emails and accounts of right-wing individuals and groups for nearly four years.
Four people are accused of hacking, while the other three are charged with using the illegally-gathered information to commit violence or vandalism.
The seven had originally faced the prospect of being charged under the nation’s terrorism laws, but the investigation did not turn up enough evidence to substantiate those charges.
"The information that came to light during the investigation did not support terrorism charges, so they will be tried under standard criminal statutes,” said Nilas.
The case has been under investigation since PET, the domestic intelligence agency, made the initial arrests of some of those charged in February of 2010.
