JANE BURGERMEISTER REPORT: POLITICAL SHOW TRIAL OF CIVL RIGHTS ACTIVISTS IN AUSTRIA ENDS IN ACQUITTALS

POLITICAL SHOW TRIAL OF CIVL RIGHTS ACTIVISTS IN AUSTRIA ENDS IN ACQUITTALS: Irish Times compares soft treatment of known Nazis with persecution of animal rights campaigners Jane Burgermeister | May 2, 2011 at 2:17 pm | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/puNtl-1cE

. *Show-trial of civil right’s activists in Austria comes to an end

*Judge finds all 13 animal rights activists innocent of all charges.

Nine activists had to spend 3 months in jail. Show trial lasted 14 months, broke all legal norms, activists persecuted for political views and not for crimes, said experts. Law Professor who criticised trial in a newspaper report was slapped with defamation charges.

*While animal rights activists are listed as extremists by Austrian Interior Ministry, there is no mention of the many Nazis, reports Irish Times on Sunday

*Simon Wiesenthal Centre says on Sunday that Austria “refuses in principle to investigate, let alone prosecute, suspected Nazi war criminals.”

*An extreme right-wing and corrupt justice system poses danger to all Europeans in an era of the European Arrest Warrant

*Honest former Justice Minister Bandion-Ortner given minor job after being fired following her instructions to arrest a known Nazi

*Controversial Georg Krakow allowed to stay in his position, candidate for head of corruption state prosecutor’s office reinforcing impression of rampant corruption

The first show trial of political activists in Austria since the second world war came to an end today when the judge acquitted thirteen animal rights activists this morning.

Judge Sonja Arleth found the activists not guilty of the charge of belonging to a criminal organisation, sparking scenes of jubilation in the courthouse in Wiener Neustadt.

http://www.orf.at/stories/2056118/

http://diepresse.com/home/panorama/oesterreich/654688/Freisprueche-fuer-Tierschuetzer_Sternstunde-der-Justiz

http://derstandard.at/1303950719705/Newalds-Photoblog-Jubel-und-Freude-bei-den-Tierschuetzern

Nine of the activists had had to spend 3 months in jail in spite of the absence of any credible evidence that they had violated a law. All the activists had their lives left in shambles after they had to attend court for 14 months in a trial costing tax payers 7 million euro.

Judge Sonja Arleth was praised by the activists for showing “backbone” by bringing the monstrous political trial to a swift end today after she summed up with a brief and objective evaluation of the facts. Read more of this post

Add a comment to this post