A former Austrian agent goes on trial in Vienna from Wednesday, alongside a far-right MP, for breach of professional secrecy. This is the first trial in a vast espionage affair also involving the Russia.

At this stage, 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 called.

Former spy Egisto Ott is accused by the public prosecutor’s office of having searched in 2018 for the names of colleagues who had “participated in a meeting of the European intelligence services”, “by order” from Hans-Jörg Jenewein, then an elected member of the ruling FPÖ party. He also allegedly gave him the names of undercover employees, “jeopardizing the maintenance of national security and the success of future intelligence activities”.according to a statement from the public prosecutor’s office.

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 out on YouTube, his client is the victim of a settling of scores within his former department, the proceedings also having an impact on the police. “political dimension”. “Only the incriminating elements were divulged in the press, without critical distance and in a one-sided manner”.he lamented, pointing out the “absence of conclusive proof”..

Up to three years in prison

Both men face sentences of up to three years in prison. Egisto Ott, in the sights of the public prosecutor’s office since 2017 due to his suspicious activities, was taken into custody a first time in 2021, then again in the spring of this year. Contacted, he declined to comment. In mid-March, he denied all the allegations to AFP.

But this first trial concerns only a small part of the cases concerning him. In separate investigations, the former agent is suspected of having provided information to the Russian security services. In particular, he is accused of having carried out research for Jan Marsalek, wanted by the German justice system in connection with the bankruptcy of the payment company Wirecard. The transition of the far-right, close to Russia, to the Ministry of the Interior between 2017 and 2019 had led several Western countries to limit their exchanges of information with Austria, a neutral country.

The FPÖ won the parliamentary elections at the end of September, but Austria is still looking for a government, with no party willing to join forces with it to form a majority, citing in particular its proximity to Moscow.