Minister moots review of secret service files

Defence Minister Ueli Maurer says he agrees with criticism by a parliamentary watchdog over the registering of people considered a security threat for Switzerland.

Maurer said the rules were not always clear and needed to be clarified by parliament. He also called for a policy change to reduce the number of files, but he warned of drawing hasty conclusions.

He added that an internal inspection in his ministry had shown back in 2009 that the amount of data stored could not be assessed in a timely manner.

Last week a parliamentary committee revealed that data of up to 200,000 people are stored, but the quality of some files is inferior.

Meanwhile, terrorism, violent extremism, espionage and proliferation of dual use products were the most important threats facing Switzerland last year, according to the annual report of the Federal Intelligence Service.

None posed an immediate danger for the country, said Markus Seiler, director of the service, at a news conference on Wednesday.

The report highlights activities by undisclosed foreign spies to access confidential bank client data as well as a secret service which used Switzerland as a logistical hub.

Seiler also points out the threat of cyber attacks. However, Switzerland is not a primary target of Muslim extremists, despite voters’ approval of an anti-minaret initiative last year, he said.

The authorities recorded an increase in violent incidents by animal rights activists last year. Overall the number of left- and rightwing militants remained stable.

Urs Geiser, swissinfo.ch