Following the tragic death of Christian Pilnacek, once the most powerful official in the republic, ex-Chancellor Sebastian Kurz responded to the shocking news on Saturday in a detailed tweet with the headline “About the death of Christian Pilnacek”. He wrote that he was essentially driven to death (tweet below).
“I don’t think anyone can undo this now, but maybe it’s a moment to pause (sic!) and become aware of how things go here sometimes. I knew him well,” Kurz continued
In short: “It makes you think”
“When someone commits suicide, it is the result of extreme desperation. It is extremely painful to see that a cheerful and sociable person, and also a proven top lawyer, no longer sees any other way out. And above all: it makes you think.” You have to take a moment to think about how it got to this point, says Kurz (see tweet below).
“Unfortunately, in recent years I have had to experience how he was treated and what it did to him,” the ex-chancellor said in a criticism of the Public Prosecution Service for Economic and Corruption (WKStA), which filed a complaint against Plinacek in 2013. 2019 for abuse of office. The republic’s top judicial officer was removed from power under the Justice Ministry Alma Zadic and was eventually given away in 2021 on suspicion of betraying secrets.
“(…) Because, although we in Austria like to brag about being a developed constitutional state that upholds human rights, some are treated as if we live in the Middle Ages, where people are pilloried and publicly humiliated,” said Kurz, who also sees himself as being persecuted by the WKStA (“just an accumulation of false arguments”), which he denounced as a “red network”.
“He was a true servant of the state”
Kurz said in court and in an interview on Friday that he had spoken to Pilnacek on the phone a few hours before his death. “I knew Christian Pilnacek for many years. His expertise, his depth of knowledge and his services to the Republic have led to a strengthening of our legal system in Austria. He was a true servant of the state,” the former chancellor continued.
Justice Minister Zadic (Greens) said in a statement on Friday that he was shocked by Pilnacek’s death. She described him as a “very technically experienced lawyer whose expertise has made a major contribution to the further development of criminal law.” Her ministry and palace of justice were covered with black flags on Friday afternoon.
Nehammer and Edtstadler were deeply affected
Constitutional Minister Karoline Edtstadler (ÖVP) was also “deeply affected”. Pilnacek was “a brilliant lawyer who shaped the Austrian legal system like no other for decades.” Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) also expressed deep concern about X. During his work as Minister of the Interior, he came to know and appreciate Pilnacek as an “excellent lawyer”.
Source: Krone
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