XXXX SAST REPORT XXXX MARCH 2001 XXXX

Rapport sur la situation de la liberté de la presse 

Köppel Elmar	unknown suspect Robbery	unknown suspect Robbery	unknown suspect Robbery	Kastner Gert Robbery
unknown suspect Robbery	Weißbacher Peter Robbery	unknown suspect Robbery	unknown suspect Robbery	unknown suspect Robbery

Aujourd'hui, les prédateurs de la liberté de la presse ont un visage, apprenez à les reconnaître.

 AUSTRIA GRABS SECRETS FROM BUREAU

 Mit Methoden der NS ZEIT gegen kritische Journalisten

INNSBRUCK, Austria -- Some days later they had something larger in store for the journalists of SAST REPORT.

Police and 10 civilians -- rejects, losers, broke into the room in Innsbruck again and teared the place apart -- grabbed all equipment and press items, loading everything on a truck.

Not hesitating for even one moment the looters stole all the money, credit cards, the clothing, the passport of one journalist, they wrecked furniture, chinese antiquities dating from the Mingh Dynasty and damaged unpayable limited handbound facsimile editions - and blocked the journalists from further entering the room.

It was like a bomb had hit -- the terror and shock and fear all around. The journalists were horror-stricken.

This violent crowd recovered large amounts of documents from the room in what SAST REPORT say is a major compromise of secrets. One journalist said that the damage is difficult to assess because the press items still are in unauthorized hands.

However, the journalist said the ransack of the entire professional equipment, documents and the destruction of the academic library is a major loss, barbaric and strictly against the law. But it will fail to push them to "surrender".

The journalists are said to have destroyed as much sensitive information as they could to protect confidential sources.

After 10 hours this bunch of stoned crazies drove the journalists out into the dark, leaving them only shirt, jean and shoes and the executive case with some press items.

SAST REPORT is still trying to get Austria to return the stolen items. Despite repeated requests the equipment and the journaux have not yet been returned to the journalists.

The closure and the confiscating of all press items is a dangerous decision for freedom of expression and these methods of punishment are particulary mean and unfitting for a civilized nation stated Sachsenmaier and warned those responsible not to go "beyond the limit of what is acceptable".

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