The head of the senior public prosecutor’s office (OStA) Vienna, Johann Fuchs, accused of violating official secrecy (§ 310 StGB) and false testimony before the “Ibiza” investigative committee, can continue to do his job. The Supreme Court lifted his suspension, the “Kurier” reported Tuesday evening. “The suspension is not necessary for official reasons,” the court ruled. Fuchs can return to work with immediate effect.
Justice Minister Alma Zadic (Greens) justified the suspension with the “seriousness of the alleged breach of duty in the interests of the service or to protect the reputation of the profession”.
Fuchs is accused of having revealed to the section head in the Ministry of Justice, Christian Pilnacek, who was also suspended from service, in December 2020 that the Public Prosecutor’s Office for Economic Affairs and Corruption (WKStA) was preparing a complaint against a “Presse” editor. Several WKStA representatives had felt attacked by an article by the journalist – the report she actually submitted to the Vienna Public Prosecutor’s Office was put aside there due to a lack of justified initial suspicion.
The false statement alleged by Fuchs is the result of his appearance in the “Ibiza” committee, where he was asked on March 10, 2021 whether he had passed on parts of the file. To this Fuchs replied, under a duty of truth, that he could not remember it and could therefore neither confirm nor rule it out.
