Swiss intelligence agencies receive wider powers

CAIRO – 4 November 2017: The Swiss Parliament voted overwhelmingly for a law giving national intelligence agencies codified rights to monitor the personal behavior and bank accounts of Swiss citizens without prior permission, as part of the war on terror, for the first time in Swiss history.

The law also gives national intelligence agencies the right to monitor and track the movements of all foreign residents on Swiss territory.

Sources in the Swiss Parliament said that terrorist threats and the activities of extremist groups in Europe and the fear of counter-attacks by the Islamic State was a motivation for Swiss legislators to issue this law.