The head of the legislative department responsible for criminal supplementary laws, Fritz Zeder, will become the new head of the criminal justice department of the Ministry of Justice. He succeeds section leader Christian Pilnacek for many years, who died last year and was recently suspended.
As the Justice Ministry announced on Thursday, Zeder, a senior prosecutor and honorary professor of criminal law at the University of Vienna, will take up the vacant position on April 1.
The section was last led on an interim basis by Christian Manquet, who retired at the end of January. The criminal law section also includes the department previously led by Zeder.
Top official found dead
Pilnacek was found dead near Krems on the night of October 20 after a police check during which his driver’s license was confiscated. He had been suspended since 2021 due to initial suspicions of betraying state secrets. The Federal Disciplinary Commission initially lifted the suspension, but it was reaffirmed in subsequent higher instances.
In April 2023, the suspension was discussed again before a committee, and Pilnacek again protested his innocence. His death ended the procedure without a legally binding result.
Audio recordings of attempted influence by the ÖVP
A few weeks after Pilnacek’s death, secretly recorded audio recordings became known. The explosive tape is about alleged attempts by ÖVP politicians to influence the proceedings.
A U Commission set up by Justice Minister Alma Zadic (Greens) is to investigate the question of whether the People’s Party actually tried to influence judicial investigations, as evidenced by the statements of Pilnacek, who was once the most powerful judicial officer in the republic. the conversation on March 28 in a chic restaurant in the center of Vienna.
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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.
