Saturday, December 17, 2011
Switzerland may free nuclear smugglers
From The Hindu
In an unexpected turn of events Swiss authorities announced a
decision to enter into a plea bargain with the notorious Tinner family members,
who have been in jail over nuclear smuggling charges in the illicit network of
disgraced Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan.
The Tinners, Friedrich and his two sons Urs and Marco, were also
accused of being informants for the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency
and one of the father-sons team was actually said to have been a CIA contractor.
The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland this week noted
that it had formally filed charges against the Tinnners under the War Material
Act, an indictment based on their alleged aiding of “the illegal nuclear weapons
programme of an unknown state through various activities.”
However the Swiss authority also sought to close the case against
the Tinners after the courts found verdicts of guilt “in relation to offences
under the WMA and against one of the sons for forgery of documents.” The
prosecutors said that the proceedings in respect of other offences had already
been dropped and the court was “requested to accept a plea bargain between the
parties covering sentences, the allocation of costs, the forfeiture of assets
and other matters.”
One Washington think-tank that has closely tracked the case, the
Institute for Science and International Security, said that the Tinners were
expected to plead guilty in an agreement “that will likely include no further
jail time.”
ISIS however said that it applauded the Swiss authorities’
announcement as it left in place “a precedent that proliferators will be
prosecuted for their crimes by governments.” For years, the ongoing, unresolved
case against the Tinners has exposed sensitive government activities and created
a constitutional crisis in Switzerland, ISIS analysts said.
The case against the Tinners gained momentum last December after a
Swiss Magistrate recommended bringing charges against them notwithstanding a
“seven-year effort by the Central Intelligence Agency” to keep their own
relationship with the Tinners secret.
According to media reports unnamed officials in the George W. Bush
administration, which helped bust the Khan smuggling ring, also acknowledged
that the Tinners secretly served as double agents for the CIA. In their latter
capacity, the New York Times reported last year, the Tinners gave the
U.S. spy agency information about Khan’s activities and helped the agency
“introduce flaws into the equipment” sold by Khan to other countries.
In pushing forward charges Swiss Magistrate Andreas Müller in
December 2010 had attacked his government for having “massively interfered in
the wheels of justice by destroying almost all the evidence.” Less attention was
however given to allegations of CIA break-ins in Switzerland, and an
“unexplained decision by the agency not to seize electronic copies of a number
of nuclear bomb designs found on the computers of the Tinner family.
Labels: A.Q. Khan, illicit network, nuclear smuggling, Pakistan's nuclear policy
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Pakistan – a notable absentee
From The Hindu
The one notable absentee from the list of national or country-level commitments made at the just-concluded Nuclear Security Summit is Pakistan, which finds no mention in a White-House issued document titled “Highlights of National Commitments at the NSS”.
The document lists commitments of 30 countries and the International Atomic Energy Agency, including India's commitment “Announcing the creation of a Nuclear Energy Centre with a nuclear security component,” and China's commitment “Announce cooperation on nuclear security Centre of Excellence”.
One mention of Pakistan's commitments came from President Obama himself, during a press conference at the close of the summit. Mr. Obama said: “Pakistan… announced new steps to strengthen port security and prevent nuclear smuggling.” This was a reference to the Megaports Initiative which aims to detect radioactive materials in containerised cargo. The National Nuclear Security Administration, responsible for the Megaports Initiative and the Secure Freight Initiative, also does mention that since the start of the Megaports Initiative in 2003, NNSA has completed installations at 27 ports including in Pakistan.
However a 2008 Congressional testimony on the initiatives by NNSA Assistant Deputy Administrator David Huizenga suggests that Pakistan's enrolment in the initiatives significantly predates the Nuclear Security Summit.
The one notable absentee from the list of national or country-level commitments made at the just-concluded Nuclear Security Summit is Pakistan, which finds no mention in a White-House issued document titled “Highlights of National Commitments at the NSS”.
The document lists commitments of 30 countries and the International Atomic Energy Agency, including India's commitment “Announcing the creation of a Nuclear Energy Centre with a nuclear security component,” and China's commitment “Announce cooperation on nuclear security Centre of Excellence”.
One mention of Pakistan's commitments came from President Obama himself, during a press conference at the close of the summit. Mr. Obama said: “Pakistan… announced new steps to strengthen port security and prevent nuclear smuggling.” This was a reference to the Megaports Initiative which aims to detect radioactive materials in containerised cargo. The National Nuclear Security Administration, responsible for the Megaports Initiative and the Secure Freight Initiative, also does mention that since the start of the Megaports Initiative in 2003, NNSA has completed installations at 27 ports including in Pakistan.
However a 2008 Congressional testimony on the initiatives by NNSA Assistant Deputy Administrator David Huizenga suggests that Pakistan's enrolment in the initiatives significantly predates the Nuclear Security Summit.
Labels: Nuclear Security Summit, Pakistan's nuclear policy
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