Zadic plans draft

Tightening of the espionage paragraph announced

Justice Minister Alma Zadic (Greens)

(Bild: APA/ROBERT JAEGER)

Justice Minister Alma Zadic (Greens) has announced a draft law to tighten the espionage paragraph. In future, espionage by foreign intelligence services will not only be punishable in this country if it is directed against Austrian interests, but also if other states or organizations are spied on.

Section 256 of the Criminal Code currently stipulates that "anyone who establishes or operates a secret intelligence service to the detriment of the Republic of Austria or supports such an intelligence service in any way whatsoever shall be punished with a prison sentence of six months to five years". This regulation has been criticized for some time.

Relatively safe place to work for intelligence services
Vienna is home to numerous international organizations such as the UN, the OSCE and OPEC, as well as many diplomatic missions. At the same time, Austria is considered a relatively safe "place of work" for foreign intelligence and secret services due to the current legal situation. It is currently only punishable in Austria if you spy on an Austrian ministry, for example, but not if you do so at the UN. There is only an exception for military intelligence services - these are generally prohibited. However, not even the Russian FSB defines itself as such.

Austria has been accused of being an island of the blessed for secret and intelligence services from all over the world for many decades.

Justizministerin Alma Zadic (Grüne)

Bild: APA/Georg Hochmuth

"Austria has been accused of being an island of the blessed for secret and intelligence services from all over the world for many decades. That's why we need to tighten up the criminal law here," says Zadic. "Legal loopholes have so far allowed foreign intelligence services to spy on Austria with impunity. We must close these. We therefore want to extend the espionage paragraph so that in future our law enforcement authorities can also take action against foreign spies if they are not targeting Austria itself, but international organizations based here, such as the UN or friendly states."

Support from the coalition partner
The announced draft is currently being prepared by the Ministry of Justice and will then be submitted to the ÖVP. The ÖVP supports the proposal in principle, as Interior Minister Gerhard Karner told "Ö1" Morgenjournal, but would like to see an overall package that also includes the long-requested options for monitoring messenger services. However, Karner did not want to speak of a condition: "Not junket, but an overall package is the goal". The opposition parties also reacted positively to the announced tightening of the espionage paragraph.