The federal prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation into charges that US agents spied on on consulates, missions and UN agencies in Geneva, a Swiss newspaper says.
American spies used high-performance antennas hidden behind a false facade on the roof of the US Mission to the United Nations in Geneva to intercept mobile phone calls and internet messages from foreign diplomats, according to a report published on Tuesday by German magazine Der Spiegel.
Swiss President Ueli Maurer said in comments broadcast on Saturday that he was outraged at revelations of sweeping US surveillance on allies, insisting the snooping would weaken rather than strengthen Washington.
Edward Snowden, the American fugitive accused by US authorities of violating espionage laws, has sought asylum in Switzerland, among other countries, but his chances of being admitted are slim. And what he has reportedly said about the Alpine country may not exactly boost his chances.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday urged nations to protect the integrity of diplomatic missions on their soil amid allegations that Washington spied on the European Union and other allies.
Edward Snowden, the former CIA agent who leaked top secret American intelligence documents, slammed the Swiss for being racist, rich and class-conscious on an internet chat site while stationed in Geneva, a US website is reporting.
The Swiss government on Tuesday revealed that it has asked the United States to explain an alleged CIA blackmail operation to spy on Switzerland's banks, exposed by whistleblower Edward Snowden.
