The head of the Vienna Public Prosecutor’s Office (OStA), Johann Fuchs, was acquitted on Tuesday before the Innsbruck Regional Court. The court did not consider the allegations of breach of professional secrecy and false testimony before the Ibiza U committee to be proven.
Last summer he was found guilty at first instance, but the Innsbruck High Court overturned the verdict. Therefore, the cause had to be renegotiated.
No public interests have been violated
It was proven in court that Fuchs passed on documents about a complaint against a former “Presse” editor to the suspended section head Christian Pilnacek. Fuchs himself admitted that he had spoken to him about it. However, the court saw no violation of public or private interests and the action did not lend itself to that either.
In the second charge – the false testimony before the Ibiza U commission, where Fuchs had stated that he could no longer remember the documents passed on – the court now ruled that there was a need for witnesses. At the time of the statement in 2021, there were numerous complaints against the defendant and an investigation was also underway. “With his statements he tried to avert the danger of criminal prosecution from him,” the verdict reads.
Prosecutor appoints
The public prosecutor has appealed, so the verdict is not final. Defense attorney Martin Riedl then told journalists that he had expected the current verdict and saw no chance of an appeal. As long as the procedure is ongoing, there will also be a disciplinary procedure.
Source: Krone
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