The abuse of office trial against several former top officials of the now-defunct BVT (Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counterterrorism) continued on Monday. The first to be questioned was an official who allegedly helped obtain asylum for a Syrian general.
“It’s all normal,” he said in court. As head of the first reception center in Traiskirchen (Lower Austria), the man is said to have ensured that the Syrian general, who was brought to Austria by the BVT, was also granted asylum here. The legal requirements for this were missing. The defendant is accused of ensuring that the general’s file “remained”, ie the two-month period after his arrival expired. Austria thus became responsible for the asylum procedure.
The Syrian has been charged with war crimes by the NGO Commission for International Justice and Accountability (CIJA). As head of a prison in Raqqa, he would have known about torture. The Public Prosecution Service in Vienna has been investigating the man for involvement in physical harm and torture for some time in this case.
“I trusted the police”
The BFA official pleaded not guilty and said the case was “not really a big deal” for him either. In assessing that the general was in danger in France, “he relied entirely on the BVT and the police.” His own research would have been “excessive” for him, as the team would have been on 15-hour shifts for weeks at the time. “While I was listed as a defendant, I received the Federal Cross of Merit from the Federal President,” he said at the trial.
When he’s not in court, he would continue to do his job, “which isn’t exactly funny, by the way.” It’s a “double-edged sword,” whether you’re dealing with a case quickly or just “leaving something behind.” The latter is about Advantages when it comes to protecting witnesses.
process publicly
The process is public. The judge had not granted a request to exclude the public. Interstate relations are not jeopardized by public discussion, she said. An important controlling and preventive function lies in the public character of the negotiations. In certain cases, however, the suspect could request that certain parts of the interrogation be temporarily excluded. In addition to the head of the first detention center, three former members of the Bureau for the Protection of the Constitution – a former chief of espionage and two chief inspectors – have been charged.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
