The trial for abuse of office against several ex-top officials of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Combating Terrorism (BVT) continued today.
The accused are accused of having accommodated a Syrian general in Austria and procuring asylum for him despite the lack of the prerequisites. The deputy BVT director at the time should have testified as the first witness, but the summons was not delivered because he had given the wrong office address.
Prosecutors investigate Syrian prison
The Syrian general has been accused of complicity in torturing opponents of the Syrian regime in a prison in al-Raqqa. In the meantime, the Vienna public prosecutor’s office is also investigating what is happening in the Syrian prison.
Business trip to Israel
On the other hand, another former employee of the BVT, which has since been dissolved, gave the correct address and was therefore also present. He had started the business trip to Israel together with the deputy director. According to the indictment, representatives of the Israeli foreign intelligence service Mossad approached the director in Tel Aviv to conclude a cooperation agreement with the BVT.
The witness interviewed today did not know anything about a cooperation, but emphasized that at that time (note: around 2015) there was a “tense security situation for Austria and Europe”, among other things due to several “returns” from the terrorist militia Islamic State (IS). . That is why it was in any case important to obtain information from international partner services.
