OGH Reduces Prison Sentence for Grasser

In 2020, Grasser was sentenced to eight years in prison by the Vienna Regional Criminal Court. The Supreme Court halved the sentence for former FPÖ Secretary General Walter Meischberger to 3.5 years of imprisonment.

Imprisonment for Grasser Reduced

For former lobbyist Peter Hochegger, the additional imprisonment was reduced from six to three years, partially suspended. The additional imprisonment for former Immofinanz CEO Karl Petrikovics was reduced by the Supreme Court from two years to 12 months. The chairwoman of the Supreme Court's panel of judges, Christa Hetlinger, emphasized during the verdict announcement on Tuesday that the Buwog and Terminal Tower Linz cases are now legally concluded. The allegations against Grasser regarding evidence tampering were dismissed.

Supreme Court Sees No Unfairness

The procedural errors in the first trial and the alleged bias of the first-instance judge Marion Hohenecker, as extensively argued by the defense, do not exist, explained the chairwoman of the Supreme Court's panel. There was no unfair trial, according to the Supreme Court. The defense had repeatedly criticized the composition of the first court under Judge Hohenecker as "not neutral" and "biased."

The chairwoman of the Supreme Court's panel addressed the defense's allegations of bias against the first-instance judge in detail. The behavior of her husband, a judge, is not to be condoned, but it is not part of the proceedings. The records do not provide any indication that Judge Hohenecker acted in a biased manner. The Supreme Court's panel of judges cannot find any misconduct in the audio recordings in the large jury courtroom of the Vienna Regional Criminal Court.

(APA/Red)

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