Evidence proceedings in the abuse of office trial against several ex-top officials of the now defunct Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counter-Terrorism (BVT) start today. The accused are accused of housing a Syrian general in Austria and procuring asylum for him despite the lack of legal requirements. Among the first witnesses called is ex-BVT director Peter Gridling. Judgments should not be made until mid-May at the earliest.
The Syrian general has been accused of complicity in the torture of opponents of the Syrian regime in a prison in Ar-Raqqa. In the meantime, the Vienna public prosecutor’s office is also investigating what is happening in the Syrian prison.
