A former Austrian agent is on trial in Vienna from Wednesday alongside a far-right MP for violation of professional secrecy, the first trial in a vast espionage case also involving Russia.
At this point, two days of hearings have been scheduled for Wednesday and Friday. But it could last longer, according to a court spokeswoman, with many witnesses being summoned.
Former spy Egisto Ott is accused by the prosecution of having sought, in 2018, the names of colleagues who “participated in a meeting of European intelligence services”, “on orders” from Hans-Jörg Jenewein, then elected to the party FPÖ in power.
He would also have subsequently given him the names of undercover employees, “endangering the maintenance of national security and the success of future intelligence activities”, according to a press release from the prosecution.
Finally, he is suspected of having sought to collect the names of police officers specifically investigating Ibizagate, a corruption scandal involving the far right.
For one of his lawyers, Jürgen Stephan Mertens, who spoke on YouTube, his client is the victim of a settling of scores within his former department, the procedure also having a “political dimension”.
“Only the incriminating evidence was disclosed in the press, without critical distance and unilaterally,” he regretted, pointing out “the absence of conclusive proof.”
Both men face a sentence of up to three years in prison.
Egisto Ott, in the prosecutor's sights since 2017 due to his suspicious activities, was placed in detention for the first time in 2021, then in the spring of this year.
Contacted, he did not wish to speak. In mid-March, he denied all the allegations to AFP.
But this first trial concerns only a minimal part of the cases concerning him.
cHe is notably accused of having carried out research for Jan Marsalek, wanted by German justice in connection with the bankruptcy of the payments company Wirecard.
The passage of the far right, close to Russia, to the Ministry of the Interior between 2017 and 2019 led several Western countries to limit their exchange of information with Austria, a neutral country.
The FPÖ won the legislative elections at the end of September but Austria is still looking for a government, with no party wishing to ally with it to form a majority, citing in particular its proximity to Moscow.
