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Ex-Intelligence Officer Faces Major Espionage Trial in Austria

1/22/2026

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Summary

Story summary

Egisto Ott, a former intelligence officer, is on trial in Vienna for spying for Russia and sharing data with Jan Marsalek.
Prosecutors call it Austria's largest spy trial in years.
He faces corruption and espionage charges with a five-year sentence.
From 2015 to 2021, Ott allegedly abused authority by using police databases without authorization.
Austria's former Chancellor Karl Nehammer described the 2024 arrest as a national-security threat.

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Story summary

Egisto Ott, a former intelligence officer, is on trial in Vienna for spying for Russia and sharing data with Jan Marsalek.
Prosecutors call it Austria's largest spy trial in years.
He faces corruption and espionage charges with a five-year sentence.
From 2015 to 2021, Ott allegedly abused authority by using police databases without authorization.
Austria's former Chancellor Karl Nehammer described the 2024 arrest as a national-security threat.