Austria’s former Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has won his appeal against a conviction for giving false testimony to a parliamentary committee, clearing a major hurdle in his potential return to politics. The court’s ruling overturns last year’s judgement and eight-month suspended prison sentence for the 38-year-old ex-politician.
Kurz was found guilty of perjury in 2022 over allegations that he had been involved in selecting executives on a state holding company while serving as Chancellor. However, his appeal argued that the judge who convicted him was biased.
The three-judge appeal bench ruled in Kurz’s favour, stating that “the objective offence of giving false evidence was not fulfilled.” Kurz has denied wrongdoing on separate corruption allegations and has not publicly expressed an intention to return to politics yet.
As part of his post-politics career, Kurz has been involved in several business ventures, including the cybersecurity company Dream Cybersecurity. The company’s development is significant, as its partners include the former head of Israel’s NSO firm, developer of the controversial Pegasus spyware product.
Austria’s conservative People’s Party remains in power after forming a coalition with the Social Democrats and liberal party. However, Kurz’s potential return to politics will be closely monitored due to ongoing investigations into corruption allegations against him.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c989dr3erp2o