A Vienna court on Monday acquitted four ex-officials of allegedly granting asylum to a Syrian former general suspected of crimes against humanity in the latest case to throw the spotlight on Austria's spy service.
The three former intelligence agency officials and a former asylum agency official were accused of abusing their office to procure asylum for Khaled al-Halabi, who served as head of state security in the northern city of Raqa from 2009-2013.
In 2016, an international non-profit organisation tipped off Austrian authorities about war crimes allegations against al-Halabi after locating him in Vienna.
He was allegedly granted asylum under a deal with Mossad, Israel's secret service.
A court found the four men not guilty of abuse of power, ruling the accusations against them had not been proven beyond reasonable doubt, a court spokeswoman told AFP.
The verdict can still be appealed.
The trial against a fifth man, also a former spy service official who was originally charged with the other four, was postponed due to health issues. He will get a separate trial later.
Prosecutors accused the men of helping al-Halabi transfer from France to Austria and obtain asylum in 2015 "under false pretences" with a "cooperation agreement" between a "foreign partner service" and Austria's intelligence agency.
Austrian media have identified the "foreign partner service" as Mossad.
Al-Halabi left Syria in 2013 and arrived in France in 2014, but was reportedly denied asylum due to concerns that he might have been involved in war crimes.
The investigation into al-Halabi is ongoing.
The Commission for International Justice and Accountability (CIJA) accuses the branch under al-Halabi's command of committing "egregious crimes against humanity, including murder and torture, along with sexual offences... with his knowledge".
Across Europe, Syrian refugees have drawn on the principle of universal jurisdiction to ensure suspected war criminals are held accountable.
Courts in Austria, Germany and Sweden have convicted former Syrian officials in connection with the country's devastating civil war.
The reputation of Austria's spy service was tarnished by several scandals in past years, including accusations of Austrian officials leaking information to Russia.
