Acquittal for Sebastian Kurz: Ex-Chancellor triumphs in court!

Acquittal for Sebastian Kurz: Ex-Chancellor triumphs in court!

Sebastian Kurz, the former chancellor of Austria, was today acquitted of charges of making false statements. In a decision, the Vienna Higher Regional Court overturned the conviction by the first instance. Kurz was originally sentenced to eight months' probation in February 2024 because he was accused of giving a false representation of his role in filling posts in his statements to the Ibiza investigative committee. The appeal hearing now made it clear that the objective element of false evidence was not met in his case, which the court confirmed and thus made the acquittal final. At the same hearing, however, the punishment for Kurz's former office manager Bernhard Bonelli was set at a suspended sentence of six months. [FAZ].

The Ibiza affair, which led to the fall of Kurz's first government, had its origins in a secretly recorded video in which then Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache offered state contracts in exchange for electoral help. In the 2020 investigative committee, Kurz was questioned about his role in connection with the appointment of supervisory board members for the state holding company Öbag. Kurz emphasized that he had answered all questions to the best of his knowledge and belief. In his closing remarks, he made it clear that he did not feel adequately prepared for the extensive questioning, but that he always intended to “under no circumstances say anything wrong.” 20 minutes highlights that Kurz has now been exonerated of the charge of making false statements, despite his previous conviction.

Reactions after the verdict

After the acquittal, Kurz explained that the verdict was incomprehensible to him and that he was happy that his innocence was now established. The Higher Regional Court found that Kurz had not given the impression in his original statement that he was not involved. This represented a clear difference from Bonelli's case, whose false testimony was weighted differently. Tagesspiegel reports that the professional judge also expressly ruled out a new trial against Kurz, which is of great importance for his legal situation.

Despite the positive turnaround for Kurz, there are further legal challenges. He is currently being prosecuted on suspicion of embezzlement of public funds, particularly in relation to the financing of fake surveys and positive media coverage. This shows that the political and legal disputes for the former head of government are far from over. Kurz, who became the world's youngest head of government in 2017 at the age of 31, retired from politics in 2021 and ventured into the private sector.