Partial guilt for Benko

Lawyer: “Will have detention reviewed promptly”

(Bild: APA/EXPA)

Immediately after the verdict was announced, Norbert Wess, René Benko's defense lawyer, appeared before the media in the foyer of the Innsbruck Regional Court on Thursday. He spoke of a "laughing and crying eye", revealed what was "unexpected" in his eyes and at the same time announced the next steps.  

"The verdict is difficult to comment on" - Norbert Wess began his statement with this sentence. It made him "laugh and cry". "Two of the total of eleven watches have been left for the lay assessor's court. You have to take note of that and let it sink in - even as a defence lawyer," he emphasized. 

"Everything went perfectly and flawlessly"
In his view, one approach was "somewhat unexpected" - "namely that the court of lay assessors split the watches up again individually in the course of its assessment". In other words, the watches were assessed individually. "I had the impression that the court of lay assessors took a very close look at the case. There is nothing to complain about here, everything went perfectly and flawlessly," said Wess.  

Norbert Wess with his client René Benko in court in Innsbruck on Wednesday(Bild: APA/EXPA)

"That also comforts me a little"
Wess also commented on the acquittal of Nathalie Benko. "That was to be expected from my point of view. Above all, I congratulate my colleague Michael Hohenauer for his work and the way he presented himself in court. There was nothing incriminating in the file. That also comforts me a little," said the defense lawyer, "in any case, this verdict was not unexpected for me, but it is nevertheless pleasing that it turned out this way. 

The Benko couple met again today for the first time in almost a year - specifically since René Benko's arrest. "I don't want to make a big deal of my client's emotions, but it was clear that the situation today was not easy for either of them," says Wess.

It was clear that the situation was not easy for either of them today.

Norbert Wess, Verteidiger von René Benko

No monitored phone calls: "That's against the law"
He criticized the fact that "not even monitored phone calls" were possible between the couple - after all, they "have three children together". In his eyes, this is "unlawful". "We are fighting against it and have been waiting for a court decision for months. It's really unsatisfactory that this can't and won't be resolved more quickly," he says.

Pre-trial detention "to be reviewed promptly"
Benko's defense lawyer also reveals his further plans: "The next thing we will push ahead with is the question of pre-trial detention. After all, my client has been taken into custody for these proceedings. It's not an outright acquittal, but at the end of the day 'only' a conditional prison sentence in a small area was imposed. How can you still assume a 'risk of committing a crime' for the future now at the latest? There must be concrete evidence of this in the future, and we will have the court review this in a timely manner." 

And will René Benko remain in Innsbruck prison or will he be transferred back to Vienna? "The court has decided that my client can remain in Tyrol until further notice - there is no expiry date and no objections to date," says Wess.