Swiss Investigate Suspected CIA Spying on Trade Union Members

By Warren Giles
Bloomberg
Nov. 03, 2006

Nov. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Switzerland's federal prosecutor is investigating a case of suspected spying by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency on trade union members in the country.

Swiss investigators, who initiated a probe on Sept. 12, ``have corroborated the suspicions'' and identified the people involved, Jeanette Balmer, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor, said today in an e-mail. Because the case involves a foreign state and suspicions of political crimes, she said, the prosecutor has requested Swiss government authorization to pursue the case in court. Balmer declined to give further details.

The Syna union, Switzerland's second-biggest, said it suspects the CIA tried to access data on some of its 65,000 members, whose ranks include construction workers. Its complaint followed a story last week in the Swiss newspaper Blick that said a U.S. agent based in the capital Bern tried to access information on union members.

``A 35-year-old American established contact 2 1/2 months ago with a young Bern resident,'' Blick reported. ``His goal: To obtain information about a certain person of Arab origin who was thought to have been involved in terrorist financing.''

The union ``calls on the U.S. government to pull the relevant person out of the country,'' Syna said in a statement on its Web site. ``The U.S.'s legitimate efforts against international terrorism do not justify the breach of individuals' rights and spying on trade unions.''