Swiss intelligence not doing enough against left-wing extremism

NDB does not utilise its full potential against left-wing extremism Keystone-SDA

The Federal Intelligence Service (FIS) is not utilising all the resources available within the legal framework in the fight against left-wing extremist violence. This is the conclusion of a report by the supervisory authority for the FIS (AB-ND), which was reported by Radio SRF on Monday.

According to the supervisory authority’s report, the FIS is not in a position to optimally fulfil its mandate. The reasons for this include a lack of personnel and a deterioration in cooperation with the cantonal security services.

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According to Prisca Fischer, head of the independent supervisory authority for the Federal Intelligence Service (AB-ND), the fact that the FIS does not utilise all available resources also has to do with the management culture. “The management culture leads to staff being overly cautious, so to speak,” Fischer told public radio SRF.

The FIS has strengthened its capacities in the area of left-wing extremism and is planning further expansion, he wrote in a statement made available to news agency Keystone-SDA. The intelligence service justifies its decision not to deploy individual resources in certain cases with security considerations.

Adapted from German by DeepL/ac

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