The suspended six-month prison sentence against his former chief of staff Bernhard Bonelli, also for false testimony, was confirmed. Kurz had initially been sentenced to eight months of suspended imprisonment. The verdict is final.

Sebastian Kurz was acquitted

The case revolved around the allegation that Kurz downplayed his role in the supervisory board appointment of the state holding company ÖBAG. The prosecution accused him of wanting to create the impression that he had essentially nothing to do with the process. "The objective elements of the offense of false testimony were not met," the judge explained the verdict. A false testimony is committed by someone who intentionally misrepresents facts. Kurz acknowledged that he was involved in the appointment of the supervisory board. Kurz thus correctly answered the yes-no question of whether he was involved in the appointment. The questioner, Stephanie Krisper, was not satisfied with the answer, but the questioning time had ended. Kurz did not give the impression that his question had been conclusively answered, the court stated after reviewing the video recordings from the investigative committee.

Judge not biased

The role of the first-instance judge Michael Radasztics played no part in the overturning of the initial verdict. The defense argued that he gave the appearance of bias because he had passed information to Peter Pilz and was therefore sentenced to a disciplinary penalty. These were professional relationships and had no impact on the appearance of bias. There had been no contact or personal relationships between Pilz and Radasztics for four years.

(APA/Red)

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