Short trial

WKStA: Schmid was “set up”

Before the verdict was reached in the Kurz trial, it was testimony against testimony. A Russian claimed that Schmid was telling the truth.

Things got heated one last time in the large jury courtroom on Friday. A poor interpreter, the suspicion of the economic and corruption prosecution that Thomas Schmid had been "set up" and an original sloppy mistake by Schmid in his CV dominated the final hours before the verdict was announced.

Schmid's credibility put to the test
What was it all about? The focus was on a meeting between the key witness candidate Schmid and two Russian managers in Amsterdam. Although this has little to do with the accusation of false testimony, Schmid's credibility was put to the test: during this interview for an oil project, Schmid is said to have complained about pressure from the investigators. In addition, he is said to have confided in the Russians that he was testifying on behalf of the WKStA, although this was not always true.

Sebastian Kurz was found guilty.(Bild: APA/ROLAND SCHLAGER)

His former head of cabinet Bernhard Bonelli also received a sentence.(Bild: APA/EVA MANHART)

The second Russian witness was questioned via video link between Vienna and the Austrian embassy in Moscow. Unfortunately, the translation was suboptimal.

The Russian explained that Schmid had said that the investigations in Austria would make his life uncomfortable as he would have to testify against colleagues. "Between the lines" he had "read from his life experience and his abilities that he wanted to make a deal with the public prosecutor's office". Because Schmid had said: "He was good to those who were good to him."

"That is an untruth"
Former Chancellor Sebastian Kurz had brought an interpreter into the courtroom to point out gaps in the translation. Kurz's defense lawyer Otto Dietrich "saved" the Russian's testimony by making some clarifications - for example, that Schmid had said all these sentences and were not just an interpretation by the Russian. Schmid, who was also connected via video, denied all of the Russian's claims. "That is an untruth." He had only said that he was cooperating with the authorities. The WKStA sensed a "trap that had been set for Schmid".

The punchline at the end was Schmid's admission of guilt that his claim in his CV that he had helped negotiate a hostage rescue was a sloppy mistake.