Confrontation at the Vienna Regional Criminal Court: Ex-opposition politician Peter Pilz had filed private charges against Vienna’s city council and VP chief Karl Mahrer. These are statements made at a press conference following the BVT affair.
A private prosecution can have far-reaching consequences. Because if the private defendant is convicted, he will have a criminal record. And that is exactly what threatens Mahrer.
At a press conference on March 26, 2021, he made statements that led to ex-opposition politician Pilz suing him for libel – punishable by up to one year in prison.
“Information obtained from the BAT”
Specifically, it concerns the following statement: “Peter Pilz, Hans-Jörg Jenewein and Helmut Brandstätter allegedly obtained top secret information from the BVT against payment.” They apparently had no problem “covering up criminal networks for their own purposes”.
“I have never paid money for information,” replied plaintiff Pilz, represented by Volkert Sackmann, on the basis of a duty of truth. An official of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counter Terrorism (BVT), who was under investigation and who had been called as a witness, confirmed this.
To be continued in February
Mahrer, defended by Werner Suppan, pleaded not guilty: “I was only referring to media reports and politically commenting on them.” – Adjourned to question another witness.
Source: Krone
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