Passing on names

Egisto Ott in the trial: “We use other sources”

Trial against suspended chief inspector and ex-FPÖ politician

(Bild: Holl Reinhard/Reinhard Holl)

Trial for violation of official secrecy and breaches of data protection regulations against the ex-BVT chief inspector Egisto Ott and the former FPÖ politician Hans-Jörg Jenewein, who are suspected of espionage. The defendants rejected the accusations on Wednesday. 

"You won't see a spy, it won't be about abuse of office," introduces Josef Phillip Bischof, the defense lawyer for the accused Egisto Ott. The public prosecutor's office has been investigating Ott since 2017 for secret intelligence to the detriment of Austria, among other things. However, the trial, which started on Wednesday in Vienna, is not actually about that.

Pictures of persons providing information in the U Committee to Ott
"It's just about names," says Bischof. And about pictures. Specifically about the violation of official secrecy and breaches of data protection regulations. In addition to Egisto Ott, the former FPÖ politician Hans-Jörg Jenewein is also on trial. According to the public prosecutor, the 50-year-old, who is also accused of illegally possessing brass knuckles, is said to have forwarded images from the BVT and Ibiza committees to Chief Inspector Ott and a journalist. "I didn't want to harm anyone," says Jenewein. The meeting of a parliamentary sub-committee would be broadcast in a media room anyway. According to the chat log, he replied to the journalist's request for photos at the time: "It's completely illegal what I'm doing". 

In 2019, Ott allegedly obtained information on participants in a meeting of European intelligence services on behalf of Jenewein and passed it on to him. According to Jenewein's defense lawyer, his client and Egisto Ott had a friendly relationship. Jenewein would have needed the list while on vacation to prepare for a committee. "The file containing the names was in Vienna. That's when he decided to send a quick request to Ott."

"I'm supposed to spy for Russia. Absurd!"
Referring to the passing on of names, Ott says that no illegal way was chosen to obtain them: "There are other ways. We use other sources. No source from the BVT or the ministry was definitely tapped." The 62-year-old appears upset, verbally attacks the public prosecutor several times and harshly criticizes the now defunct Federal Office for State Protection and Counterterrorism. In a subordinate clause, he comments on the accusations of espionage. These were "absurd".

The trial continues on Friday.