Justice Minister Alma Zadic (Greens) is against a literal ban on citing media from criminal files. Her counterpart in the ÖVP, constitutional minister Karoline Edtstadler, had previously demanded something similar. This arrangement has not proven itself in Germany and is de facto dead law there, argued Zadic. The ÖVP partly blamed Zadic for the fact that construction sites such as the defendants’ rights have not yet been completed.
The rights of the suspects in the preliminary investigation are “very good” at the moment, according to the Minister of Justice. There is a lot of catching up to do with the police. But there were a number of proposals from her side that now need to be negotiated in the coalition. In addition, Zadic wants to await various rulings from the Supreme Court, for example when it comes to evaluations of mobile phones.
For Zadic, the fact that the ÖVP has now “discovered” the rights of the accused is due to the fact that individual ÖVP politicians have also been accused. For the specific issue of reimbursement of costs in acquittals, she passed the ball on to the Ministry of Finance, which had to provide a global cost estimate. The Minister of Justice also sees the responsibility of the Turks in various leaks of files, which often originate from the investigation committee. The chairman of the National Council, Wolfgang Sobotka (ÖVP), is required here.
Triple Senate or Federal Attorney?
For the Minister of Justice, however, the most important right of suspicion is the disempowerment of politicians on instructions to the Public Prosecution Service. A proposal from the panel of experts it convened had been on the table for a long time, but since then no agreement has been reached with the coalition partner. Zadic again argued for a three-member senate as the federal prosecutor desired by the coalition partner. There will be another meeting soon, but “to my liking it is going much too slowly”, she said in the ORF “press hour” on Sunday.
Edtstadler herself is waiting for federal prosecutors to provide “concrete templates” for the defendants’ rights, as she said in an interview with the Presse on Sunday. Regarding the implementation of the secrecy reform, she reported that they were “finalizing it” and that they would soon start negotiations with the opposition. “It could only be a matter of weeks,” says Edtstadler.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
