From msuinfo!agate!ihnp4.ucsd.edu!mvb.saic.com!MathWorks.Com!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!howland.reston.ans.net!pipex!dircon!mikeb Thu Sep 29 21:41:24 1994 Path: msuinfo!agate!ihnp4.ucsd.edu!mvb.saic.com!MathWorks.Com!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!howland.reston.ans.net!pipex!dircon!mikeb From: mikeb@tdc.dircon.co.uk (Michael Barney) Newsgroups: sci.crypt,talk.politics.crypto Subject: Re: Crypto AG Schennagans on Swiss Radio International Followup-To: sci.crypt,talk.politics.crypto Date: 28 Sep 1994 08:15:22 GMT Organization: The Direct Connection Lines: 260 Message-ID: <36b8mq$kse@newsgate.dircon.co.uk> References: <3691hl$qj1@newsgate.dircon.co.uk> NNTP-Posting-Host: tdc.dircon.co.uk X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL2] Xref: msuinfo sci.crypt:32643 talk.politics.crypto:7670 Michael Barney (mikeb@tdc.dircon.co.uk) wrote: No more request for individual copies please. Here it is. Make up your own mind. Mike Barney The following is the transcript from Hans Buehler on Swiss Radio International. It was relayed on "Echo Der eit", Radio DRS, on 4/7/94 at 1845 Hour. This is Swiss Radio International. SRI is on the air via Satellite and Shortwave. News and Current Affairs on the Hour, Feature Programs on the Half Hour. Stay tuned for Rondevous. People and places in Switzerland. Hello and welcome to Rondevous from Swiss Radio International. I'm James Mason. Later in the program we bring you up to date with the case of Hans Buehler, the Swiss Telecommunications Engineer who spent 9 months in an Iranian Jail on spying charges and has been trying to find out the real reason behind his arrest and detention. You're listening to Rondevous, from Swiss Radio International. I'm James Mason. Back in May you may have heard a Sunday feature program from SRI about the strange case of Hans Buehler. Hans Buehler is the Swiss Telecommunications Engineer who used to work for a Swiss company called Crypto. Crypto, based at Steinhausen in Canton Zug, is one of the worlds leading manufacturers' of enciphering equipment used by governments, ministries, militiary forces and intelligence services all over the world to scramble their communications so they can't be intercepted and read by unauthorized third parties. In 1992 Mr. Buehler, then one of Crypto's most successful technical salesmen, was arrested while on his 24th sales trip to Iran. He was charged with spying and spent 9 months in solitary confinement in an Iranian military jail. ...... Hans Buehler's daughter, Christina. Crypto had paid $1Million bail for Hans Buehler's release. He returned to Switzerland in January last year, but his career was destroyed when Crypto fired him a few weeks after his return. Since then, Mr. Buehler has spent all his time researching, trying to find the real reason behind his arrest and dismissal. Earlier this year, sensational information reported in the Swiss media put Mr. Buehler's case in an entirely new light. A documentary on Swiss Television and also a book about Mr. Buehler's case suggested that Crypto was really German controlled, and that the enciphering machines were being manipulated by American and German intelligence services, so encoded messages could be intercepted and read. Mr. Buehler now believes the Iranians suspected they had been sold manipulated machines, and arrested him to try and get more information. Mr. Buhler says he then believed he was working for a Swiss company selling clean machines. In May, while on his way to the Geneva book show to promote the book about his case, Mr. Buehler said, "We have new information that my former employer for years carried out intelligence activities". This sentence was published by the Swiss Magazine "Sweitzer Illustrater" . Crypto then took Mr. Buehler and the Magazine's publishers to court, seeking a ban on Mr. Buehler repeating this sentence. I asked Mr. Buehler himself to take up the story. Crypto has made a complaint against me and the publisher of a well known Swiss weekly magazine the "Sweitzer Illustrater" and they quote that I have said while I was on the train to Geneva from Zurich on the way to Geneva to present this new book "Ver Schulluselt" of the Case of Hans Buehler, that I have said we have new information that Crypto has been active in intellegence for many years. Something like this. "Did you actually say that?" Yes, I have said it one way in one form or the other, but I will stand with the general intrepretation of this. You can imagine that when I say something like this that I probably have received alot of information to substantiate it. This is a pretty serious allegation that your saying that your former employer enagaged in intelligence activities. What concrete evidence and proof will you put forward to substantiate this? Well when we go to court I will be represented by my lawyer, so I shall name to the charge the names of the persons that have given me such information, and I shall name to the court the type of equipment involved specifically, and other people will be called up because it says we, not just Hans Buehler, will possibly be called up to court and they will have to confirm they have said it to me. If they say they havn't said it to me then there are others and we will go into cross examination. Earlier this year, Swiss Television made a documentary on your case and they traced the ownership of Crypto to Germany and alleged it was really controlled by the German intelligence services, they also said that Crypto was selling manipulated enciphering machines. Why didn't Crypto take action then, why have they waited until now to take you to court? Well Swiss National television was very very suprised that Crypto did not complain against this long television program, this documentary. It seems that Crypto would like to keep all of this low key, because otherwise they must absolutely defend themselves, because if you leave such thing unanswered in the world, this is terrible. Crypto has asked the German Magazine that had a lenghty article on the case of Hans Buehler and this was entitled "Espionage", much harder still than just manipulated equipment, they havn't done anything against them. Neither, they have ask them to publish a letter showing the position of Crypto and of course putting in a disclamer. The German magazine, the lawyers of the German magazine or the appointed lawyers of the German magazine "Focus" they just wrote to Crypto a couple of lines and, "look this article was well researched and it is true". With this Crypto left it at that. But now, Crypto has found a sentence of Hans Buehler presenting his book in Geneva , a well accepted book, by the well and very factual, as a matter of fact Crypto has given it free of charge to their sales engineers because the book just explains things and the epilogue written by myself actually says, and it was written in December 1993, I cannot understand such allegations that Crypto equipment could have been manipulated, but then in the Spring of 1994 after watching the TV newsreel, of reading in the press, the allegations substianted of all the information I got, I unfortunately came to the conclusion there was more behind the story. At your press conference in Zurich before your court appearance, you said there are people, specifically one person present in Crypto who has known about manipulating machines since 1970. Is that correct? Yes, or actually even before. Actually there are several people. There are people who have very good knowledge of manipulated equipment, but again lets look at this very carefully. First of all, there are people who used to work for Crypto who have very profound knowledge of how it was done also, and there are people still working for Crypto who have profound knowledge of it and they have people who Crypto have only dismissed. Now the people who have given me this information, of course the question is, why do they give me such information? Because basically they have nothing to do with me. Why should they tell me "Look I have knowledge that Crypto is making equipment that is not as good as it could be. Why did they tell me that? Well they have been so hurt also personally, when they understood how Crypto has let me fall when I was in Iran when they wanted my Family to agree or me actually to agree to pay $1M bail. The way they have treated me when I returned when they fired me when I was on holidays they have written me letters that I was not allowed to speak with people of Crypto again, old friends. When, they actually told me that I owed them all the bail money and I owed them all the expenses that was going to be millions if you say they had a couple of people which they put on my case, lawyers, and then they say enough is enough, I'm going to talk, I'm going to help Hans, and they told me. The following I'm going to tell you, I tell you because I want to help you so you understand there is much more possibly behind your story, your arrest, or at least your dismissal from the company. And they said also, and if necessary, if you need my help in court, I will come. Well Mr. Buehler, the publisher "Ringyea" and Crypto all went before the District Court in Zurich on July 5th <1994>, and presented their cases before the judge. On Monday this week, Mr. Buehler's lawyer received the judges verdict in writing. She ruled that for the time being, Mr. Buehler cannot repeat the sentence about having new infomation that his former employer was long engaged in intelligence activities. But she dismissed Crypto's complaint against the publisher "Ringyea" Crypto now has 1 month in which to lodge a formal complaint against Mr. Buehler. Mr. Buehler told SRI this week, that if he's taken to court again, he'll then call forth witnesses and submit proof about his allegations. Youre listneing to Rendevous from Swiss Radio International. I'm James Mason. FYI: Here are the specifics on the book: Title: Ver Schlusselt (Ciphered) Author: Res Strehle (ghost writer for Hans Buehler) IBSN#: 3_85932_141_2 Publisher: Werd Verlag (Zurich) Approximately US$61 each,10-12 weeks for delivery. German only. Does anyone have a copy of the article or a video tape of the Swiss TV Program? Please let me know. Michael Barney