The Swiss Radio International broadcasted two English programs about Crypto AG.
This is a transcript from the broadcasts in May 15, 1994 (25 minutes) and July 18, 1994 (12 minutes).
Se also the notes at the end, to evaluate the authenticy of this transcript.

---

Part 1, May 15, 1994 , 25 minutes long.

Announcer:
-You are listening to the English program of Swiss radio international. Now its time for Sunday supplement. In this edition James Mason looks into the mysterious case of Hans Buehler.

Ghostvoice: "I am not a spy". Hans Buehler has done nothing wrong, he has just being a Ping-Pong boll caught between politics and economic considerations

Buehler: Important to me is only that i spent nine months in solitary confinement in a Iranian military jail.

The company paid one million dollars bail in order to get Hans Buehler out of Iran, But next he was dismissed by the company so what was the reason for Hans Buehler dismissal which worth one million American dollars?

I have been spending all of my time investigating my case trying to find out why have i really been arrested and why. The real reason for my dismissal.

Mason: Hello and welcome to this edition of Sunday supplement from Swiss radio international. I am James Mason. Today we take a look at what must be one of the strangest stories to have come out of Switzerland in recent years. The case of Hans Buehler. Hans Buehler is the Swiss telecommunications engineer who was arrested while on a business trip to Iran in march 1992.

At the time relations between Switzerland and Iran was strained, as Switzerland was about to extradite to France, an Iranian national; [Seynol ? xxx check spelling of name] Sarhadi, who was wanted in connection with the murdering Paris the Iranian opposition figure; [sahpoh? difficult-to-hear-name] Bahtiar.

Many observers saw the arrest of Hans Buehler as simple retaliation by Iran. Mr Buehler however was accused of spying, bribery, having illegal contacts with military personal, and of consuming alcohol in an illegal place.

He endured nine and a half months of interrogation in an Iranian military jail before he was released and returned to Switzerland in January 1993. His company having paid one million US dollars bail. A few weeks after his return to Switzerland his company fired him. A move that astonished many observers and boosted public interest in his case.

Later in 1993 an Iranian military court handed down in his absence a three years jail sentence. As you heard in the beginning of the program Mr Buehler has been trying to find out the real reason for his arrest and dismissal. A book published recently in Switzerland and also a documentary broadcast on Swiss television in March this year, both revealed sensational information that put Mr Buehlers case in a new light. We will be hearing from the books author, from the tv-program and also from Mr Buehler himself later on.

But first, in the days following Mr Buehlers arrest, the Swiss authorities where initially reluctant to name the company he worked for. When they did, it turned out to be Crypto, a publicity shy company in Steinhausen about 20 kilometres south of Zurich. Crypto is one of the worlds leading manufacturers of ciphering equipment used by ministries, embassies, armed forces, secret services and companies all over the world to scramble their communications so they cant be read by unauthorised third parties.

Crypto exported such equipment to customers in over 100 countries that until recently included Libya, Iraq and Iran. In the thirteen years he worked for Crypto, Mr Buehler have travelled the world as one of the company most successful technical salesman. He made 24 previous trips to Iran even at the time of the war over Iraq, giving demonstrations of Crypto's chyphering equipment sometime even onboard Iranian helicopters and warships. In March 1992 he was on his 25 trip. Travelling with 250 kilogram of presentation material when he was arrested.

The Iranians where clearly mad about something. From the record of the interrogations given in the book we get an idea of what it was.

[A ghost voice meant to represent an interrogator:]

Mason: It seems the Iranians where convinced someone was reading their supposedly secure and secret communications. In the Swiss television documentary, a former Crypto engineer made a sensational allegation. For his own safety he wonted to remain anonymous and the program makers reconstructed the intervju. [xxx check spelling of "intervju]

[A voice in German says a few meanings, then the voice fades out. A ghost voice says:]

[The German voice continues, tells a few meanings, and fades out]

Mason: It has always been thought that Crypto was a Swiss company. But researchers traced the major shareholder to a company in Liechtenstein. The trail then led to a trust company in Munich. And the government department suspected to being a cover for the German intelligence services, the Bundes Nachtrichten Dienst. The documentary also pointed out that Crypto had close connection with the German electronic trans, Siemens.

Another former Crypto employee, who used to work in the company's finance department, and who also wanted to remain anonymous made this revelation on television.

[A German voice tells a few meanings, then fading out. A ghost voice says:]

Mason: By now it was clear what was being said. Crypto's machines was being fixed so that western intelligence agencies could read messages being sent. But did Hans Buehler himself know anything about this? To find out I went to see him. But first some background about him.

He was born near Zurich in 1941, and as a youngster showed a keen interest in radio communications. He obtained his amateur radio licence when he was 17 and is still very active on the ham-bands with his call sign Hotel Bravo 9 X-ray Juliat. In the 1960's and 70'ties he worked as the ships radio operator and he was also a radio operator for the Red Cross in Nigeria and Yemen. He joined Crypto in 1979. Today he lives in a leathy area of Erlichen, a suburb of Zurich. Upstairs in his house he has a well-equipped radio schack that would be the envy by any amateur radio enthusiast. With UHF and VHF transceivers, linear amplifiers, and sophisticated antenna arrays. He has a special interest in amateur radio satellites. And has a sophisticated computer program showing the orbits and positions of dousins of satellites.

Since his release from the Iranian jail he has been spending all of his time trying to find out what happened. And a whole cuburb in the shack is filled with files of documents and press cuttings about his case. So did he think the Iranians suspected their secret messages was being read, and arrested him in trying to find out?

Buehler: I have no proof that this was the reason why i was arrested, of course during the interrogations I was asked many many questions about relationships that the company had. But all i knew was that we had customers world wide and the allegations which where made in this recent television program ... you said it ... of course are terrible allegation i hope not a word of it is true, but of course if it is true, then this is a catastrophy and if this is substantiated then I was misused by my own company for an interest.

Mason: As a tele communications engineer, do you think it is possible that those machines sold to Iran could have been spiked?

Buehler: I hope not... I hope not... I hope not. If they had been manipulated then again I must say, I have been used in the most disgraceful manner, as a Swiss national from a neutral country, misused by a foreign power

Mason: How did you spending your time since you where dismissed by Crypto?

Buehler: I have been spending all of my time investigating my case. I say again, ... trying to find out why have I really been arrested?.. and why. The real reason for my dismissal.

Mason: What theories are advanced in this book that starts just about your case now. Vershusselt, Enchiphered.

Buehler: This is a book, which tells the story from beginning to the end. It is not a novell, its a true book. It has very large documentary, some 60 pages of documents, photo stamped copies of documents, which proofs that the whole story is true. The book just tells the story, the rest, the interrogations the time in prison, and then my return to dismissal, the des information, deputations, made by the company, against me, against my family and so on, so forth. And of course it has received very very big attention, very very big readership. Because it is like a novel. It is like a spy story. The only thing which is missing .. Hans Buehler. I am not a spy. But the story, as interesting it is to read, Is a true story.

Mason: What do you think is the hart of the unhappiness between you and the Crypto company now? What are the most upsets about?

Buehler: Last year in December in 93 also this is where the book actually ends. Crypto and myself has reach an agreement. Out of court because I have said to the company, to my previous employer, that I would go to court. And actually, the motive for this book, which has been written, was that I would give it to the judge in Switzerland. To the judge himself. For thousands of papers about the case of Hans Buehler and I thought the judge when he has read the book ... I can expect a fair judgement between the disputes between me and my previous employer, the Crypto company. Since we have reach an agreement about which one has agreed that not divulge any details. It is a very strait forward agreement, by the way, and the book now will help me hopefully to find a new job.

Mason: What about your own health, you spend nine nearly ten months in an Iranian jail. Did you had troubles with readjusting to life once you got back home? How was things when you got back?

Buehler: Well it took some time to adapt obviously. But i think after going through such a nightmare, it is important to think positive. There is only the future, and the nice thing in life is ...one forgets the bad things and remembers the good ones. What has been very hard of course in this time has been ... it has been very hard for my family. Because they where never informed. They have never been informed ... what was going on. And it of course has ... they are still having very very bad feelings about this. But as I say, important, I am back in my native country, in beautiful Switzerland, what counts is the future.

Mason: Hans Buehler.
The book we mentioned is called vershusselt; that is German for enciphered. It was published in March around the same time as the television documentary. Its author is the Swiss journalist; Res Strehle. I asked him to go through the various theories about Mr Buehlers arrest.

Res Strehle: They said it could be that the Iran state ...wanted to hinder the Switzerland to deliver Sarhadi, the Iranian citizen. But for instance this story for me was never a possibility because Iran had nothing against this delivery of Sarhadi to France. Because France is well known as a state who seeks very close relation to Iran. And as well as it was to late when Mr Buehler was detained by the Iranian police, it was to late to hinder the delivery of this Sarhadi.

The corruption ... another cause. I don't think it is the reason. Because its a part of the system how they buy it. There was never known about a change in this condition of buying things.

So it just stayed as the last reason, this secret service relations. And this is for me the typical Swiss background because Switzerland is known internationally to be a neutral country. It does not belong to the Nato for an instance. But if you look behind you se that there is quite a lot of relations to this Nato states, from the companies from the states. For me it is very quick... it was clear that this company, Crypto, as well as states in close relation to other countries to other .. let say, technological instructions, it was not independent of the Nato standards. So the buyers from Switzerland they think they get some neutral technology but as a real, it is technology which is in a close dependence to the Nato technology.

Mason: Res Strehle, author of the book about the case of Hans Buehler.
But what about Crypto side of the story? Crypto's chief executive officer is Michael Grupe. Swiss television asked him why he dismisses Mr Buehler? Who really owns his company? And whether Crypto cypher machines was manipulated.

[Michael Grupe says a few meanings in German, and then fading out. ]

The radio program's translation of what he had sad:
- There was a complete bridge of thrust between the company and Mr. Buehler. Mr Buehler categorical refused to take a job with us other than in foreign sales. Furthermore in order to get to the bottom of the matter, we wanted access to the files of Mr Buehlers lawyer in Teheran. But he refused to grant us this access. As for the allegations that Crypto's secret shareholders is German, in particular the German intelligence services, well of course that's complete non sense. For years, I would even say for decades, we had business relations with the chipher centre in Bad Godesberg, and we want to maintain these relations. There is nothing more to it than that. As for the military division in Arizona that was mentioned in the report, that is nothing more than a Motorola company with whom we have corporation agreements. And as for manipulation. Well, people with very naive knowledge of chipher machines might claim they are manipulated. Our equipment can not be manipulated. Today's level technology makes it impossible for unauthorised parties to influence the chiphering process. I understand you intervjuved one of our former employees. If he has proof of manipulation, he should reveal it for all to see. And as for the authorities in Bern, they are also our customers, and they more than anybody else know that our equipment is fully in order.

[The German voice belonging to is Michael Grupe continues, tells a few meanings, then fading out]

Mason: Crypto's chief executive officer Michael Grupe, who incidentally is German and used to work for OSRAM a Siemens controlled company. What he said about Mr Buehler refuting to give access to his lawyers files in Teheran is contradicted by a letter by Mr Buehler, included in the books documentation, in which he specifically instructs his lawyer in Teheran to make all information available to Crypto. Well as you could imagine the Swiss media had a filled day after the television documentary was broadcast, and nearly every paper carried reports of the allegations. Crypto then set about re ensuring customers about the security of their equipment Last month they sent this letter to their customers.

Mason: Meanwhile the Swiss justice and police department has also taken an interest in the affair. Spokesman Victor Schlumb

Schlumb: At the beginning of march several federal departments, foreign affairs, military and our department of justice, got aware of new suspicions and also of new stories concerning manipulation of Crypto equipment. The federal police which is a part of the federal attorneys office, started immediately with new clarifications. To make sure whether these suspicions made sense. Of course the federal police took contact with Crypto at that time. For the time being, these activities are mere clarifications to see whether formal investigations might be necessary or not. And so forth, these clarifications has not yet been finished so we can't say if there has to be any investigation at all. That's the present situation.

Mason: Can you tell us what kind of things are being clarified or are looked at now?

Schlumb: Of course these suspicions that instruments of a firm in Switzerland, of Crypto, have been manipulated by let say, foreign states and behind this there is of course the problem of whether Switzerland has been abused as a platform for foreign intelligence.

Mason: Swiss justice and police department spokesman Victor Schlumb.
But just how keen are the Swiss authorities to get to the bottom of this affair? Journalist Res Strehle again

Res Strehle: I think there is just one main important question open in this question is; how big is the interest of the Swiss government, of the Swiss political administration, to bring now some light in this case. Because Switzerland is ambiguities in this question. At the one hand of course Switzerland is part of this Nato system of the west, and economic world. And it as well has an interests that this function ... Swiss companies ... is possible out of the Swiss ground. But on the other hand, the image of Switzerland of being neutral, to be independent, and so I think there is some hope that Swiss political administration at the government now will act in this case, and will bring hole light in this story

Mason: Res Strehle, author of "vershlusselt- the case of Hans Buehler" published in German by Werd verlag of Zurich. And with that we come to the end of this edition of Sunday supplement. From me, James Mason, thank you for listening and goodbye.

Buehler: I still want to know why I was arrested, the real reason for my arrest. And the other, there is this big question mark. What was the reason for Hans Buehlers dismissal, which was worth one million American dollars?

--- end of part 1 (2) broadcasted May 15, 1994, 25 minutes long ---

--- start of part 2 (2) broadcasted July 18, 1994, 12 minutes long ---

Announcer: This is Swiss Radio International. ...

Mason: Hello and welcome to the rendezvous from Swiss Radio International. I am James Mason. Later in the program we will bring you up to date with the case of Hans Buehler, the Swiss telecommunications engineer, who spent nine months in an Iranian jail on spying charges. And he has being trying to find out the real reason behind his arrest and detention.

You are listening to rendezvous from the Swiss Radio International. I am James Mason.

Back in May, you may have heard of 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 kanton Zug, is one of the worlds leading manufactures of enciphering equipment used by governments, ministries, military forces and intelligence services all over the world to scramble their communication so they cant be intercepted and read by unauthorised third parties. In 1992 Mr Buehler then one of Crypto's most successful technical salesman, was arrested while on his 24:th sales trip to Iran. He was charged with spying and spent nine month in solitary confinement in an Iranian military jail. His 19-year-old daughter Christina remembers that time.

Christina: I had to go to school every day and my father was not here, so I had to help my mother to do a lot of things like cut the grass and things like that. And it was a very hard time for us both.

Mason: Did anyone keep you informed about what was going on?

Christina: I think the information was not so good. They could tell us more about his case, but I only knew what my mother told me.

Mason: And when did you first heard that Hans was free?

Christina: Well, it was ... I came home from school in the afternoon with a friend of mine, and then my mother came, she was crying and she told me... I could phone with him ...so we where were happy. We where all crying.

Mason: Hans Buehlers daughter Christina. Crypto had paid one million dollars bail for Hans Buehlers release. He returned to Switzerland in January last year, but his carrier 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 out the real reason behind his arrest and dismissal. Earlier this year, sensational information reported in Swiss media that put Mr Buehlers case in entirely new light. A documentary on Swiss television and also a book about Mr Buehlers case suggested that Crypto was really German controlled and that the enciphering machines where being manipulated by American and German intelligence services, so encoded messages could be intercepted and read. Mr Buehler now believes the Iranian suspected they have been sold manipulated machines, and arrested him trying to get more information. Mr Buehler 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 a 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 Zweiche illustrator. [check spelling of the magazine] Crypto then took Mr Buehler and the magazines publishers to court. Seeking a ban on Mr Buehler repeating the sentence. I asked Mr Buehler himself to take up the story.

Buehler: Crypto has made a complaint against me and the publisher of a well known Swiss weekly magazine, the zweicher illustrate, 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; vershusselt - of the case of Hans Buehler, that i had said that we have new information, that Crypto has been active intelligence for years. Something like this.

Mason: Did you actually say that?

Buehler: Yes, I have said it one way, in one form, or the other but I will stand the general interpretation of this. You can imagine when I say something like this that I probably have received a lot of information to substantiate it.

Mason: This is a pretty serious allegation that you are saying that your former employer for many years engaged in intelligence activities. What concrete evidence, proof, will you put forward to substantiate this?

Buehler: Well, when we go to court I will be represented by my lawyer, so I shall name to the judge, the names of the persons, that have give me such information. And I shall name to the court the type of equipment involved specifically. And after 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 that they have said it to me. If they say that they said it to me they will go into cross-examination.

Mason: 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 had they waited until now to take you to court?

Buehler: Well, Swiss national television was very very surprised that Crypto did not complain against this long television program, this documentary. It seems that Crypto would like to keep all this low key, because otherwise they must absolutely defend themselves because if you leave such things unanswered in the world, that is terrible. Crypto has asked the German magazine, which had a lengthy articles on the case of Hans Buehler, this was entitled espionage. Much more than still just manipulated equipment. They have not done anything against them neither. Just asked them to publish a letter showing the position of Crypto, and of course putting in a disclaimer. The German magazine, the lawyers of the German magazine, to the point, the German magazine of focus, they just wrote to Crypto a couple of lines and look... this article was very well researched and it is true. This is where Crypto left the deck. But now, Crypto has found a sentence of Hans Buehler presenting his book in Geneva. Well-accepted book by the world and very factual. In 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 it was written in December 93, I can not understand such allegations that Crypto equipment could have been manipulated. But then it was the spring of 1994, after watching the TV-news reel, reading in the press, the allegations substantiated all the information I got. I unfortunately came to the conclusion that there was more behind it... . the story.

Mason: At your press conference in Zurich, before your court appearance, you said that there are people, specifically one person present in Crypto who has known about manipulating machines since 1970. Is that correct?

Buehler: 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 that used to work for Crypto that have very profound knowledge how it was done also, and there are people that still working for Crypto which have profound knowledge ...there are people that Crypto have already 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 got nothing to do with me. Why should they tell me knowledge of Crypto is making equipment, which is not as good as it could be. Why did they tell me? 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, agree to pay one million-dollar bail. The way they have treated me when I returned, they fired me. When I was in holidays they written me letter that I was not allowed to speak with people of Crypto again, old friends, when they actually told me that I own them the bail money, own them all the expensives that can be millions. If you say they had a couple of people which they put on my case and lawyers. They said now that enough is enough. I am going to talk. I am going to help Hans. So they told me. The following I am 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 of the company. And they said also, and if that if it is necessary, if you need my help in the court, I will come.

Mason: Well, Mr Buehler, the publisher; Ringier, and Crypto went before the district court in Zurich in July the fifth, and presented their cases before the judge. On Monday this week Mr Buehlers lawyer received the judge's verdict in writing. She ruled that at the time being, Mr Buehler can not repeat the sentence about having new information that is his former employer was in long engaged in intelligence activities. But she dismissed Crypto's complain against the publisher; Ringie. Crypto now has one month in which to large a formal complaint against Mr Buehler. Mr Buehler told SRI this week that if he is taken to court again he will then call forth witnesses and submit proof about his allegations.

You are listening to Rendezvous from Swiss Radio International. I am James Mason.

--- end of part 2 (2) ---

Notes on the authenticy of this transcript. Did this broadcast really take place?
Roomers say that transcripts of this radio program where spread to newsgroups on Internet. Unfortunately, I, Laszlo, have not been able to locate any such transcripts. Locating such a transcript would strengthen the authenticy of the radio program. Therefore i made this transcript myself, and it was finished in 16 of Sept -98.
How I, Laszlo, received the broadcast.
Mr. Bill Payne [add link] kindly sent me (21 of August -98) a cassette tape of the broadcast. Included with the tape was a photocopy that shows that Bill Payne received a tape sent from Hans Buehler in 5 January 1995.

Latest change 11Nov -98, Laszlo Baranyi, lb@qainfo.se PGP5 Key ID: 3CEAEF2C