Austrian court's approval for spy agency raid was illegal

Legal Compliance

Judges in Austria say a lower court's authorization for police to raid the offices of the country's domestic intelligence agency was illegal.

The regional court in Vienna said Tuesday that the search of the BVT spy agency on Feb. 28 wasn't justified because the necessary information could have been obtained if police had simply asked for it. It also ruled that the search of three BVT employees' homes wasn't warranted, though a fourth was.

The raid, which was part of a probe into alleged misconduct by BVT staff, sparked a political storm earlier this year.

Opposition parties accused the government of attempting to purge political enemies. The Vienna court ruling didn't rule on whether evidence seized in the raid should be destroyed.

Related listings

  • Sen. Collins, potential swing vote, meets with Kavanaugh

    Sen. Collins, potential swing vote, meets with Kavanaugh

    Legal Compliance 08/22/2018

    Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh met Tuesday with Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, a centrist who's seen as a potential swing vote on his confirmation, while Democrats push him to release more documents from his years in the George W. Bus...

  • Alabama Supreme Court won't move lawsuit against Moore

    Alabama Supreme Court won't move lawsuit against Moore

    Legal Compliance 08/18/2018

    The Alabama Supreme Court on Friday refused to transfer a defamation lawsuit against former U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore by a woman who says Moore molested her decades ago.The court denied Moore's request to have the case heard in Etowah County in...

  • Lawyers will seek to shift blame for warehouse fire at trial

    Lawyers will seek to shift blame for warehouse fire at trial

    Legal Compliance 08/16/2018

    Lawyers for the two men charged in the Northern California warehouse fire that killed 36 people said Friday they are now preparing for a trial where they will try to shift blame for the blaze from their clients to others, including the building's own...