After Lower Austria raid

Schimanek case: why he is under investigation

The public prosecutor's office in Krems is apparently investigating Rene Schimanek, the office manager of FPÖ National Council President Walter Rosenkranz, for violations of the Prohibition and Weapons Act. The investigation concerns an object associated with the far-right German group "Saxon Separatists".

This was reported by Ö1-Journal on Wednesday. During a house search in November, ammunition and Nazi devotional objects were found in a forester's lodge in Langenlois, where Schimanek was the main resident. Schimanek moved his main residence a few weeks later.

Rosenkranz has so far defended Schimanek and ruled out a suspension. The fact that a suspension was not possible was considered "an excuse" by Green MP Lukas Hammer on Ö1-Journal.

Walter Rosenkranz has so far defended his employee.(Bild: APA/HELMUT FOHRINGER)

So far no information on the reason for the investigation
So far it has not been clear exactly why the public prosecutor's office is investigating. Rosenkranz has so far only spoken of a "reporting offense". Schimanek's defense lawyer Christoph Völk told Der Standard on Wednesday: "Our client had and has no connection to the group mentioned. Our client is not being investigated for any connection to or even membership of the 'Saxon Separatists'." The public prosecutor's office could not be reached by APA for the time being.

Concerns about passing on information to Austria
As reported by "Der Standard" and Ö1, the German Federal Public Prosecutor's Office had reservations about passing on information in the case to its Austrian colleagues for fear of information "leaking out".

The German authority considers the "Saxon separatists" to be one of the most dangerous groups in the far-right milieu in recent years. A report states that the group "wanted to be prepared for a day X and take over areas in Saxony or elsewhere in eastern Germany by force of arms in order to establish a state/social system based on the principles of National Socialism. It was also discussed that there were undesirable groups of people and that ethnic cleansing could also take place in this area".