More personnel required Swiss intelligence chief warns of young jihadists
The head of the secret service in Switzerland, Christian Dussey, has warned of a growing number of young jihadists and called for more personnel for the Federal Intelligence Service (FIS).
22.08.2024, 03:26
22.08.2024, 06:49
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- The head of the secret service in Switzerland has warned of a growing number of young jihadists and called for more personnel for the Federal Intelligence Service.
- Christian Dussey explains in an interview that his employees are exhausted due to the increasing workload.
- War has been raging in Ukraine for two and a half years and there has been a new dynamic in the terrorist threat since the beginning of the year.
- Dussey makes it clear that there will also be an increase in espionage activities by Chinese spies in Switzerland in the coming years
In an interview with Tamedia, FIS chief Dussey explained that his employees are exhausted due to the increasing workload. "The staff is tired (...) There has been a war in Ukraine for two and a half years and since the beginning of the year we have a new dynamic of terrorist threat," he said.
In addition, the ability to recognize and prevent threats to the security of Switzerland and its inhabitants has deteriorated. The head of the secret service also explained that the hybrid war waged by Russia affects Switzerland in the form of aggressive Russian espionage and cyberattacks, for example. In addition, there are now significantly more radicalized young people here and Islamists are increasingly planning attacks in Switzerland and throughout Europe.
Switzerland's security is guaranteed, said the head of the secret service, but most European intelligence services have massively expanded. Dussey did not want to say directly how much additional personnel the FIS really needs and merely pointed out in the interview with Tamedia that there are concrete discussions on this within the department. "I would prefer it if we didn't need more people - and had a simpler world situation," Dussey replied to Tamedia's comment that hardly any administrative unit has grown as much as the FIS.
"Chinese services are gaining in importance"
In an interview with Tamedia, Dussey makes it clear that the coming years will also see an increase in espionage activities by Chinese spies in Switzerland. "We have noticed that Swiss research institutes and universities are very interested in the awareness-raising work we are doing," says the head of the FIS. This is because Swiss research is of interest to many players.
Increased terror threat for several years
As Christian Dussey explains, the threat of terrorism has been increasing for several years. There have been several arrests in Switzerland and Europe in the past few weeks alone. "We have noticed that the problem has become more acute in recent months," said Dussey, adding: "In Switzerland, we have an above-average number of cases of radicalized young people compared to other European countries." The fact that the radicalization of young people in Europe has generally increased is due to the fact that the Islamic State launched a propaganda campaign at the beginning of the year. It directly called for attacks to be carried out in Europe. Prevention work in Switzerland is therefore key. "We at the FIS are only at the very end of the fight against radicalization. Schools, sports clubs, families - they can all help to identify when a young person is becoming radicalized so that the process can be stopped early enough," explained Dussey.