The Krems public prosecutor's office is conducting investigations against Rene Schimanek for violations of the Prohibition and Weapons Act. Alleged emails published by the Greens are said to show, among other things, that he had connections to the right-wing extremist German "Saxon Separatists".

Rene Schimanek No Longer Rosenkranz's Office Head from March

Schimanek will no longer be an employee in the office of the National Council President as of March 1, it was reported to the APA. Nevertheless, Rosenkranz continues to have no doubt about the innocence of his former office manager, describing him as an absolutely upright and integral personality. "I am convinced that all the allegations and distortions surrounding his person will not only be clarified but will also lead to the complete rehabilitation of his reputation, which has been tarnished by investigative procedures and political attacks," said Rosenkranz. He warned against "involving employees in political disputes to exchange political small change." Rosenkranz had previously repeatedly defended his employee in the matter. In the investigations by the public prosecutor's office, he also saw no criminally relevant allegations, but merely a "reporting offense" by his employee.

Nazi Memorabilia and Weapons Found in Schimanek's House

The public prosecutor's office initiated its investigations because a house search in a forest house in Langenlois, where Schimanek was then primarily registered, found large quantities of ammunition and Nazi memorabilia. According to investigation files, the property was supposed to serve as a retreat for the "Saxon Separatists". In November, the German Federal Prosecutor's Office arrested eight suspected right-wing terrorists in Germany and Poland and simultaneously searched 20 properties, including the forest house in Lower Austria. The militant group is said to consist of fifteen to twenty people with racist and anti-Semitic ideology and partly apocalyptic views, among those arrested were the brothers Jörg and Jörn S., also members of the family of a well-known Austrian right-wing extremist. Schimanek has insisted that he has nothing to do with the matter.

Greens Inquiry: Evidence to Show Schimanek's Connections to "Saxon Separatists" and Nazi Glorification

The Greens have now published alleged emails from 2010 to 2015 on Thursday evening via a parliamentary inquiry to Rosenkranz, which are said to prove direct email contacts of Schimanek with at least two people who are currently listed in the files of the German authorities on suspicion of membership in a right-wing terrorist organization. The Greens see in the Nazi-glorifying and racist statements expressed therein also signs that Schimanek shares the historical view and ideology of the right-wing extremist group. The Greens are particularly irritated in their inquiry that the alleged emails are said to have been sent from a parliamentary account or with a signature with a parliamentary address.

The Greens saw Schimanek's resignation on Friday as the first urgently necessary step. However, the fact that Rosenkranz continues to protect him is "more than worrying" and "unacceptable," said right-wing extremism spokesperson Lukas Hammer in a written statement to the APA. "The German-national fraternity member Walter Rosenkranz once again proves that he is the absolutely wrong person as chairman of the National Fund for the Victims of National Socialism," he once again advocated for approval of the Greens' proposal for an amendment to the National Fund Act. SPÖ MP Sabine Schatz called Schimanek's departure "overdue". "That Rosenkranz still defends and protects Schimanek is unacceptable," she said in a statement and welcomed government plans that the leadership of the National Fund and the Simon Wiesenthal Prize should no longer automatically lie with the National Council President.

(APA/Red)

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