Austria toughening espionage law to address Vienna’s ‘den of spies’ image

ملخص مفصل

Austria plans to toughen espionage law and raise spying sentences after Russian diplomat expulsions in Vienna. Read more at straitstimes.com.

People walking through Vienna’s Christmas market ahead of its opening, outside Saint Stephen’s cathedral, on Nov 3.

VIENNA - Austria’s government outlined plans on Nov 11 to widen the legal definition of spying and increase the maximum sentence for it, seeking to stamp out Vienna’s long-standing reputation as a den of spies after the expulsions of several Russian diplomats.

The Austrian capital, which for a decade following World War II was divided into Allied occupation sectors, is now a major diplomatic centre. It hosts international organisations including the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and UN bodies such as the International Atomic Energy Agency.

That offers the opportunity to station intelligence agents there under the cover of diplomatic immunity. Russian diplomats expelled in recent years have worked at the Russian embassy to Austria, as well as Russia’s missions to the UN and OSCE.

“Vienna is repeatedly referred to (in media reports) as a capital of espionage, for historical reasons. At the same time, a certain Third Man romanticism plays a role there,” Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger told reporters, referring to the film starring Orson Welles set in postwar Vienna.

“I would like to clean up and put an end to that,” she said, before a Cabinet meeting, unveiling a Bill that will be submitted to Parliament after a review of several weeks.

Currently, Austrian law bans spying to the detriment of Austria, with offences subject to a maximum sentence of just five years.

The centrist coalition government plans to increase the maximum sentence to 10 years, she said, and widen the definition to also cover espionage against international organisations and the European Union, in which case a sentence of up to five years would apply.

“Diplomatic status should not be abused as a cover for spying activities on our soil... We are no longer looking the other way, and we have changed course,” Meinl-Reisinger said.

مطلع المقال، مقتطف من The Straits Times. لقراءة المقال كاملًا، افتحه على موقع الناشر.