House searches & cell phone surveillance at AUSTRIA were illegal
The process of the ” house search ” campaign against the Federal Chancellery, the Kurz employees and the ÖVP headquarters ran like a raid on felons.
The cell phone surveillance and the house searches carried out by the economic and corruption public prosecutor’s office in AUSTRIA are now turning into a judicial scandal. Since Friday it has been clear: The public prosecutors of the WKStA had a clear ban on the legal protection officers of the Supreme Court for the action of telephone surveillance against AUSTRIA that they had ordered! Now Justice Minister Alma Zadic has to take immediate action. AUSTRIA WILL bring a million-dollar lawsuit against the republic for damages.
The course of the action “House searches” against the Federal Chancellery, the Kurz employees and the ÖVP headquarters ran like a raid against serious criminals.
Am monday On October 4, the public prosecutor’s office commissioned the monitoring of numerous cell phones for the upcoming house search. This cell phone monitoring should begin on October 5th at 12 noon and run through October 7th. The house searches were scheduled for 6 a.m. on Wednesday, October 6th.
Particularly hilarious And dramatic: the cell phones intended for surveillance included three phones from the daily newspaper ÖSTERREICH, which are clearly subject to editorial confidentiality and – according to all the rules of EU law and the human rights convention – are not allowed to be monitored.
That’s why the prosecutor mighte MANDATORY obtain authorization from the Supreme Court’s legal protection officer before monitoring the AUSTRIA or Fellner cell phones. When. This is MANDATORY for every public prosecutor and a violation of editorial confidentiality is unforgivable.
But only after arrangement During the cell phone surveillance on October 5th, the WKStA lawyers discovered that they were grossly wrong: They had allegedly “forgotten” about the necessary authorization from the Supreme Court. AFTER the order of the cell phone campaign from the Supreme Court, they tried to get an okay for the surveillance afterwards and on the afternoon of October 5th (3:00 p.m.) asked the Supreme Court’s legal protection officer for subsequent approval. But the action became a disaster for the already highly controversial WKStA:
Because on Wednesday On October 6th, around noon – also in the middle of the house search running at AUSTRIA – the WKStA prosecutors received the following email from the legal protection officer of the Supreme Court, Prof. Dr. Gabriele Aicher: In it, the legal protection officer explicitly wrote that “a subsequent authorization is NOT granted” AND expressly stipulates that for the monitoring of the three cell phones of the AUSTRIA editorial team or Wolfgang and Helmuth Fellner.
But much more: The legal protection officer of the Supreme Court (!) Gives the prosecutors a complete rejection of their allegations against Wolfgang and Helmuth Fellner. She literally wrote:
Independent of the question of the extensive (!) described processes of the objective image of the crime of infidelity … and the crime of the best … in any case, there are no explanations and statements on the question of the intent to cause damage … as well as the intent to act and influence intentions in their entirety, especially neither the tenor nor the remarks on Role of Helmuth and Wolfgang Fellner as well as of AUSTRIA the subjective factual side can be inferred. For this reason alone there is a lack of the “particularly serious reasons” required by law that could make the intervention appear proportionate. “
This means: Not only the cell phone surveillance was expressly forbidden by the Supreme Court, but also the house search in AUSTRIA would NEVER have been allowed to take place, if one followed the legal opinion of the legal protection officer of the Supreme Court.
The biggest scandal In this case: The public prosecutors of the WKStA had the ban of the Supreme Court on their cell phones on Wednesday lunchtime, but continued the ongoing house search and transported all documents, although they knew that they were not allowed to do so according to the legal judgment of the Supreme Court.
Now they claim Public prosecutors suddenly said that the AUSTRIA cell phones were not monitored, although it is clearly arranged in all documents. The behavior of the public prosecutors – and above all the question: Were the editorial cell phones monitored? – Will now have to be examined meticulously, independently and ruthlessly by Justice Minister Zadic. The legal violation of the order already determined by the Supreme Court must have short-term consequences: The prosecutors concerned are threatened and the prosecutor concerned will withdraw from this cause – and possibly the immediate cessation of the investigations against AUSTRIA – a necessary consequence.
AUSTRIA lawyer Georg Zanger says clearly: “Not only the surveillance of cell phones, but also the entire house search in AUSTRIA is clearly illegal. I will bring an official liability suit against the republic on behalf of the AUSTRIA media group. We will also bring a claim for damages in the millions. ”