In the early morning of February 23, 2021, André Gisler (57) entered the office of the public prosecutor Zurich-Sihl. He must provide information on criminal proceedings for violence against and threats against authorities and officials. The suspect is his brother Roland Gisler (58). He allegedly tried to blackmail the Zurich judiciary with confidential data.
The electronic documents are highly sensitive material – psychiatric reports of the accused, private addresses of state officials, cell phone numbers of county police officers. Stored on computers, printers and servers of the Zurich Ministry of Justice.
Gisler got rid of computers for the Justice Department
The suspect Roland Gisler had received the data – like many others, possibly from all over the world – from his brother André. From 2000 to 2012, André Gisler stripped down computers and servers for the Zurich Ministry of Justice. Gisler picked up the devices and had to wipe all the data – in return, he was allowed to sell the computers afterwards.
“There were about 6,000 data carriers and as many printers,” Gisler explains according to the interrogation protocol to the prosecutor, “entire servers, laptops, PCs and data sticks.” He then sold it. The prosecutor wants to know if Gisler erased the data on the devices before they were sold. “Usually not,” says Gisler.
Gisler worked for the Justice Department until 2014. The scope and content of the confidential documents sent around the world on the decommissioned devices is still unknown. SP government councilor Jacqueline Fehr (59) had an administrative investigation launched in 2020. But she’s keeping the results to herself — even after Blick research made the scandal public on Thursday.
Fehr is not available for an interview
When Blick first confronted the Director of Justice about the data breach, her spokesperson claimed the matter had been “known for a long time” — which is not true. He later says that the leak only existed in 2008. But Blick and SonntagsBlick leaked documents from 2012.
Fehr was not available for an interview with SonntagsBlick.
She behaved in a similar manner towards the Corporate Audit Committee (GPK). According to chairman and FDP council member Beat Habegger (47), the director of justice informed the committee in early 2021 about the suspicion of data abuse. “But the size and severity of the incident were not a problem,” says Habegger.
Notification of ongoing investigation
The GPK members have also never seen the results of the administrative investigation.
Alderman Fehr has so far mainly blocked. On Friday evening, her agency issued a dry communiqué, according to which it was not definitively clear what amount of data and what type of data might be in circulation. With the comment that these questions are the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation, the management refuses further information.
This strategy meets with misunderstanding in some places. Martin Steiger, a data protection expert rhetorically asks in an interview with SonntagsBlick, “What’s the director of justice hiding?”
Criminal case for violence and threats
SVP councilor and environmental lawyer Valentin Landmann (72) questions the claim of the judiciary that no information may be provided during ongoing proceedings. Landmann is Gisler’s lawyer – and got the case going with a data theft advance.
The criminal case against his client Gisler is based on violence and threats against authorities and officials. “This procedure in no way prevents the office from providing information about the hard drives,” says Landmann. It is not clear from the communiqué whether the Directorate of Justice is referring to the above-mentioned criminal case or whether the public prosecutor’s office has opened another one. The responsibility of SP politician Markus Notter (62), director of justice from 1997 to 2011, for the data breach also remains open. Notter told SonntagsBlick that he had “no knowledge of this matter”.
One thing is certain: politically, the subject will continue to give rise to discussion. The Zurich SVP is demanding a Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (PUK) – the strictest monitoring body in politics. “We are calling for a PUK to fully clarify the data scandal,” President Domenik Ledergerber said when asked. The SVP wants to know why the Justice Committee has not informed who has been affected by the data scandal and whether sensitive data is now being deleted properly.
The pressure on Fehr is increasing. Last night she announced that she would like to provide information early next week. Apparently the director of justice is now clear: silence is no longer an option.