nuclear-news

Nuclear trial in Switzerland: evidence destroyed due to CIA link

The six-year investigation has been hampered at times by the Swiss government’s insistence that it had to destroy evidence — which included plans for nuclear arms and technologies — in the name of national security….to hide evidence of a clandestine relationship between the Tinners and the C.I.A…..

Swiss Judge Presses for Nuclear Trial Despite C.I.A. Link,  NYTimes.com, By DAVID JOLLY  December 23, 2010 PARIS — Three engineers suspected of violating Switzerland’s nuclear nonproliferation laws should face charges, an investigating magistrate said on Thursday in a case with national security implications for the United States.

The Swiss magistrate, Andreas Müller, said in a telephone interview that he was recommending that the three Swiss men — Friedrich Tinner and his two sons, Marco and Urs — be tried for violating a Swiss law on the use of war material, “specifically in supporting the development of nuclear weapons.”

The investigation stems from the Tinners’ relationship with Abdul Qadeer Khan, the Pakistani atomic bomb pioneer who later peddled his knowledge on the black market. The three family members are alleged to have acted as middlemen in Mr. Khan’s dealings with rogue nations seeking nuclear equipment and expertise…….

The Tinners’ involvement with Mr. Khan was born of Friedrich Tinner’s expertise in vacuum technology, which aided Mr. Khan’s development of atomic centrifuges to produce fuel for Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal. American officials have said that in 2000, Urs Tinner was recruited by the C.I.A. to work secretly for the agency, and that he later persuaded his father and younger brother to join him as moles……..

The six-year investigation has been hampered at times by the Swiss government’s insistence that it had to destroy evidence — which included plans for nuclear arms and technologies — in the name of national security.

The New York Times reported in 2008 that the administration of President George W. Bush had also urged the Swiss government to destroy the files. The reason, according to officials, was less to thwart terrorists than to hide evidence of a clandestine relationship between the Tinners and the C.I.A…..

…The Institute for Science and International Security, a Washington-based research organization, said in a report this week that Swiss federal prosecutors believe the Tinners should be brought to justice regardless of their assistance to the C.I.A., because they illegally supported Libya’s nuclear weapons program. The prosecutors believe “this assistance was probably forced, and Swiss courts are the rightful place to determine their guilt or innocence and decide on any extenuating circumstances,” the report said.

The case has been extremely controversial in Switzerland. The Swiss Parliament issued an opinion saying the executive had acted “disproportionately” in destroying the evidence.

Swiss Judge Calls For Nuclear Middlemen to Be Tried – NYTimes.com

December 24, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Legal, secrets,lies and civil liberties, Switzerland