After Prison Sentence for Grasser and Meischberger: This Is How It Continues Now

It is certain that Grasser and Meischberger will soon receive a summons to begin their sentences. Although the sentences imposed by the Supreme Court were significantly reduced, they still exceed the three-year threshold that would have allowed for a conditional or partially conditional suspension of the sentence. This means that, from the current perspective, both Grasser and Meischberger must essentially serve the sentences imposed on them.

Prison sentence must be commenced by Grasser and Meischberger within a month

After the court day at the Palace of Justice, the file first returns to the Vienna Regional Court for Criminal Matters, which will take some time due to its scope - experts estimate at least weeks. The responsible judge in the Gray House then issues a so-called final order regarding the legally concluded Buwog and Terminal Tower file parts, which is delivered to Grasser. At the same time, the former finance minister and Meischberger receive a summons to begin their sentences. Convicts who, like Grasser and Meischberger, are at liberty, must begin their sentence within a month of delivery.

The law, however, provides for the possibility of a deferral of the sentence due to unfitness for execution. The conditions are regulated in the Penal Execution Act (StVG). A deferral of execution is granted, for example, in the case of illness or injury and any other physical or mental weakness, with the deferral only valid "until the condition has ceased," as stated in the law. Whether the claimed illness or weakness and thus unfitness for execution exists must also be confirmed by a medical expert appointed by the court. A deferral of the sentence for so-called other reasons - such as "important family matters" or "the future advancement of the convict" - is not considered for Grasser and Meischberger. For this, prison sentences of up to a maximum of three or one year would be required.

Prison sentences exceeding eighteen months must generally be served in a correctional facility. Until it is clarified in which correctional institution (JA) the person concerned will be permanently admitted, it is the norm that the execution of the sentence is initiated in a judicial detention center. This is based on the convict's place of residence. No later than six weeks, the Ministry of Justice - specifically the General Directorate for the Execution of Sentences and the Execution of Measures Depriving Liberty - must determine in a so-called classification procedure in which correctional facility the sentence is to be served. According to the law, when creating the execution plan, "the nature of the prisoner, his previous life, his personal circumstances, and the nature of the crime of which he has been found guilty must be taken into account to the extent necessary to ensure the achievement of the purposes of the execution of the sentence with the best possible use of the execution facilities."

Conditional Release of Grasser Can Be Applied for After Serving Half the Sentence

Experts in the field consider it virtually impossible that Grasser and Meischberger will actually serve their four-year and three-and-a-half-year sentences in full. The law stipulates that after serving half the sentence - for Grasser, that's two years - an application for early conditional release can be made, which the competent enforcement court must decide on. A conditional release may be linked to conditions. In any case, a probation period of between one and three years is set, during which no offenses may be committed, otherwise the released person risks having to return to prison.

Since Grasser has no previous convictions, the offenses he committed date back a considerable time, and he has behaved well in criminal terms since then, a conditional release after half the sentence seems quite realistic. The decisive factor would be that the court assumes that Grasser will not reoffend despite early release. At the latest, after serving two-thirds of the sentence, Grasser would have to be released unless special reasons suggest that he might reoffend.

Electronic monitored house arrest - a so-called ankle bracelet - is currently not an issue for Grasser, as it requires a total sentence or remaining sentence of no more than twelve months. However, a clever lawyer might come up with the idea of applying for an ankle bracelet for Grasser after he has served the first year of his sentence. One could argue that after serving half the sentence, Grasser meets the conditions for conditional release, leaving only a remaining sentence of one year. Whether this application would be "approved" - allowing Grasser to spend the second year of his sentence in electronically monitored house arrest instead of prison - is uncertain. Numerous conditions would have to be met, which would need to be assessed by the probation service association Neustart and incorporated into a so-called supervision profile. The head of the correctional facility where Grasser is placed after the classification process would have to approve an ankle bracelet application.

It is certain, however, that Grasser's announced appeal to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) will not prevent him from going to prison. An ECHR complaint against a final domestic criminal judgment has no suspensive effect.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.