“The independence of the judiciary must be preserved at all times and also be externally visible,” said Zadić in a written statement to the APA. “Therefore, immediately after the allegations became known, I ordered a comprehensive examination by the officials inside the house and invited the legal protection officer to the ministry for an interview.”
Aicher criticism of WKStA
At the end of October, Aicher had harshly criticized investigations by the Economic and Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (WKStA), especially the one against the media company “Austria” and the raids that took place there in connection with the ad corruption affair surrounding VP and ex-Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz. She saw here “a red line of the rule of law has been crossed”. However, she also identified misconduct by the WKStA in other cases.
According to “Standard” in the metadata, the law firm Ainedter was named as the creator of the document, in which the criticism was directed at selected tabloid media such as the “Kronen Zeitung”. According to the report, their clients include Gerald Fleischmann, the former media officer in the Chancellery, against whom the WKStA is investigating in connection with the ad corruption affair. The law firm also represents ex-Vice Chancellor Josef Prll (VP), against whom the WKStA is investigating in the Casinos / Postenschacher case relating to the appointment of Peter Sidlo (FP) to the board of the state-owned gaming company on charges of breach of trust and bribery.
Christian Hafenecker, leader of the FP parliamentary group in the upcoming VP investigation committee, demanded in a broadcast that the legal protection officer be immediately recalled by Zadic. Especially as a legal protection officer, she has a special duty of care and avoiding any suspicion of bias. “If Aicher consults exactly that law firm that is in the middle of the proceedings, she has done everything wrong that can be done wrong. With a spark of decency, she voluntarily renounces her activity on Monday in order to avoid the independent judiciary even more To cause harm. ” Hafenecker also calls for an examination by the bar association, after all, by helping to formulate the criticism of the WKStA, the Ainedter law firm probably tried “to influence the ongoing proceedings via the gang, as it were”.
Stephanie Krisper, NEOS parliamentary group leader in the U-Committee, also calls for rapid clarification of the allegations that these are “serious”. Such an important function of the rule of law should not even give the impression of partisanship, said Krisper. “The justice minister would do well now to not only announce an investigation, but also to show that she is doing it for our constitutional state – regardless of whether it concerns, once again, the coalition partner VP.” The people in Austria would have deserved a justice system without a turquoise list. The events would prove that the U-Committee called for by the NEOS on the question of political influence on investigations was necessary.
Source From: Nachrichten
