“Krone” has insight – How well did Kurz-Richter and Peter Pilz know each other?

The wave of outrage surrounding Judge Michael Radasztics’ possible bias in the short trial is not subsiding. As is known, three days after the guilty verdict against ex-chancellor Sebastian Kurz, it became public that the judge had been given a disciplinary punishment. The reason: he had betrayed secrets in the Eurofighter complex.

The beneficiary at the time was the discoverer Peter Pilz. This fact is interesting because Kurz’s lawyer Otto Dietrich requested a change of judge because of his close relationship with Pilz. As is known, mold is a short ‘enemy’. Radasztics rejected the request.

Pilz statement is “incredible”
The focus is therefore on the question: Did Judge Radasztics have a close relationship with Peter Pilz in his previous role as prosecutor? The two worked for years to solve the Eurofighter crime.

However, both Radasztics and Pilz deny that there was a close relationship. Pilz even speaks of character assassination. But the ‘Crown’ gained insight into the verdict of the disciplinary board and the investigation files. Here are some facts that sound different:

• Peter Pilz had the public prosecutor’s private mobile phone number. It is definitely unusual for prosecutors to reveal their private cell phone number.

• The betrayal of the secret is said to have happened as follows: On December 20, 2018, Pilz was interrogated as a witness by Radasztics. A one-on-one conversation then took place between the then MP and the public prosecutor. Radasztics Pilz allegedly revealed that there was an instruction from the Secretary General of the Ministry of Justice regarding the recovery of files from the Eurofighter master procedure. A second prosecutor entered the room at that time, saw the two looking at the documents in front of the computer and heard Pilz say, “Oh, that’s interesting.”

• Pilz denied this incident in his interview with the prosecutor’s office, saying, according to the minutes, “That certainly could not have been the case, because there was 100 percent no one in the room during the entire one-on-one conversation.” Furthermore, Pilz claimed, Radasztics only knew of the existence of the confirmed instructions. In the disciplinary judgment available to the “Krone”, Pilz’s statement was classified as “incredible”.
  The prosecutor testified at the disciplinary hearing that she entered the room and the sentence was pronounced. Radaztics unfortunately confirmed the colleague’s statement. Apparently Pilz made a false statement, but in the specific case the limitation period has already expired.

• The public prosecutor also confirms that she herself witnessed at least one live telephone conversation between Pilz and Radasztics, which does not appear in the file. A day later, Pilz used the information to ask a parliamentary question to the Minister of Justice. As we now know, Radasztics and Pilz also spoke on the telephone about an hour and a half before the parliamentary question was sent.