Switzerland: Justice vs security
By Ken Egli for ISN
On 23 May Pascal Couchepin, a member of the Swiss Federal Council informed the public about the shredding of sensitive materials regarding the involvement of three Swiss citizens in the nuclear proliferation network of Abdul Qadeer Khan, the "father" of Pakistan's nuclear bomb.
Invoking a constitutional article that enables the federal government "to issue ordinances and orders to obviate existing or imminent great disturbances of the public order, the external or the inner security," the Federal Council justified the destruction of the files by citing the existence therein of technological secrets that could be dangerous if they landed in the wrong hands.
The decision to do so could affect a trial against the three Swiss engineers - a father and his two sons - who may face charges of nuclear technology proliferation.
Swiss technology
According to Swiss media reports, the trio was actively involved in the production and supply of vacuum technology - a key requirement for uranium enrichment - to several countries.
The family's contact with Khan dates back to the late 1970s when the father's business first supplied the Pakistani nuclear program with sensitive items. This deal developed into a long-term business relationship.
The sons were also heavily involved in later dealings. One son, Urs Tinner, was allegedly entrusted by Khan to set up a nuclear weapons production facility in Dubai in order to supply Libya. Tinner is believed to have been part of Khan's "inner-circle" and oversaw a production facility in Malaysia producing centrifuges intended for the regime of Libyan President Muammar Ghaddafi.
Tinner was arrested by German authorities in 2004 and extradited to Switzerland where he has been imprisoned pending charges. His father and brother were also questioned. The elder Tinner was released without charge. The brother is still being held and the investigation is ongoing.
Although it is unclear whether the destruction of the evidence will support the defense's claim that the Tinners were ordinary businessmen caught up in an extraordinary affair, the Federal Council's decision to destroy evidence related to an ongoing investigation is highly unusual and has raised questions over the CIA's possible involvement.
The CIA's role
Ever since the Khan network was first uncovered, rumors have circulated in the media that Urs Tinner was providing the CIA with inside information which enabled the US to force Ghaddafi to abandon his nuclear ambitions.
According to US journalists Douglas Frantz and Catherine Collins, writing in their book "The Nuclear Jihadist," the CIA managed to recruit Tinner in a bar in Dubai in early 2000 by capitalizing on legal problems he was facing in France at the time. His information is believed to have been crucial to the CIA's understanding of the inner workings of the Khan network.
There is evidence to suggest that Tinner was an informant for the CIA. During the 23 May press conference, Couchepin noted that the Federal Council had blocked an investigation against Urs Tinner for "illegal actions for a foreign country" and "illegal intelligence work against a foreign country" six months earlier. It is likely that the material on the Tinners was destroyed not only to prevent the risk of further proliferation, but also to avoid information on the intelligence operation against the Khan network reaching the public domain during a trial.
Local media are speculating that the US has put significant pressure on Swiss authorities to avoid such a scenario. The failure to secure a prosecution after three years suggests that Tinner either knows more than he is letting on - and that his intelligence value remains high - or that he has secured a deal of sorts.
Trouble ahead?
The Swiss government is likely to face questions over the affair. Some legislators are calling for a parliamentary investigation into the matter, accusing the Federal Council of violating the principle of separation of powers.
However, others believe that the destruction of the documents may well have been a matter of national and international security.