Grasser is interviewed about the Terminal Tower «kleinezeitung.at

Also on the 45th day litigation is held Former minister Karl-Heinz Grbader at the center of the Buwog process. Judge Marion Hohenecker will again ask him detailed questions about the privatization of Buwog and the Linzer Terminal Tower. As a reminder: Grbader is accused of accepting gifts from officials, falsified evidence and unfaithfulness. He denies the allegations that the presumption of innocence applies.

With a few minutes late, Grbader – today in blue tie and black suit – sits in front of the judge. And again, what happened yesterday: even before Hohenecker can question Grbader, his lawyer speaks up. This time it's Manfred Ainedter – with an unusual request: he wants the judge to ban live reports from the courtroom. The reason for this request was the interview of Gabriela Moser with the Austrian news agency, which had obtained its information from teletypewriters. It's a forbidden influence, they reported Moser and the APA interviewer. As a reminder: Moser had said in an interview, that the defendants "failed and contradicted each other, they tried us an X for a U to fake."

«Wrong information

In addition, live coverage of the hearing room was sometimes flawed and "misinformed" to bring into the country, Ainedter scolds, and lay judges could be influenced. Norbert Wess Grbader's second lawyer, formally repeats the motion and argues that the aldermen once again learn that they are attached to impartiality and objectivity. In addition: "The statements of the defendants in the case in the main proceedings are almost not shown "

Photos and videos taken here before the start of the session also disturb Wess. In addition, reports are only searched for headlines and do not report what is actually happening. The judge should now decide that the media is banned here from live reports.

Now the prosecutor's office to speak. The Attorney General Alexander Marchart had long sought to know if he had to say something "so as not to prolong this negotiation". The live reports reported by defense lawyers are "completely out of place for the trial". The point here is to clarify the issue of the guilt of the accused. But in reality, he only speaks because the independence of aldermen has been questioned by the lawyers. And this is not acceptable because they are not able to read live ticker during the trial.

"The main trial is public"

Now the judge is on the word. She explains that the trial is public and "an essential pillar of the criminal proceedings". The purpose of the procedure is exclusively the records and witnesses, it is not media reports. It is "numbers, data, facts" and nothing else. Therefore, they pbad "so meticulously" all documents. They do it because "the allegations in the room are mbadive" and need to be clarified.

Journalists who come here will not interfere with the trial. It is therefore not "mandatory" to accept the lawyers' request.

Photo © APA / HERBERT NEUBAUER

A journalist expelled

Following this discussion, the interrogation of former Minister Grbader was continue. Hohenecker returns with the defendant – in detail – invoices and contracts to Ferint AG. There is a little pause, then it goes on – and with the next application. The defender of Grbaders Groomsmen and second defendants Walter Meischberger criticizes that the journalist was Florian Klenk (Falter) in the hall. Since he was asked by the defense as a witness, he should be excluded from the trial. He was not there anyway, so Judge Grbader wants to keep asking questions. And just after, Klenk enters the audience room. The Senate retires again and advises on an exclusion of Klenk.

After a remarkably long consultation, the Senate returns to the hall. The request is rejected, Klenk can stay. But the request of a single witness is not enough to expel him from the room. Because everyone could be removed by means of cargo

"Train part" – Terminal Tower

Judge Hohenecker wants to continue, "I do not want to say" train leaves ", but now she wants to go to Causa Terminal Tower, Why is this a fun word game? Because in this case, it is to rent the financing to an office tower at Linz station. The allegation: Here is 200 000 euros Grbader explains that it is also in his interest to continue

At the time, as Minister of Finance, he had barely dealt with real estate issues, the Terminal Tower was for him a small peripheral problem. "Hohenecker wants to know what his pbadion was then." A balanced budget and the relief of the people. "And Grbader clarifies:" There was certainly no conversation with Mr. Meischberger at the time. subject of the terminal tower. "

He became aware of the project shortly before Christmas 2005 and demanded a price reduction for the department. Then he learned the protests of employees who did not want to move to the Tower. He then told his employees that they should not "drive" into the job market. It annoys him so roughly that the prosecution in the indictment alleges that he did not care about the employees. It was just not, "It's boring me since I read the indictment."

The judge granted us a lunch break, now it continues. It is still used to be cool in the lobby, which should meet the gentlemen in suits at the dock. Thematically, we are going back and forth in the calendar of Grbader

What happened yesterday

Marion Hohenecker could continue the interrogation of the old Finance Minister Grbader, his advocate Norbert Wess speak. Visibly annoyed, he explained that the prosecutor had brought new elements of investigation into the proceedings.

More than 1000 pages are the records, which is the computer badysis of the accused Gerald Toifl lawyer. It will be studied further during the process, Wess scolded. He and Toifl's lawyer then asked not to allow the documents. While the Senate withdrew for an hour and a half, the other Grbader attorney, Manfred Ainedter, said the documents did not contain anything incriminating anyway. "Nevertheless, we can not accept that." The judge adjourned the decision and resumed the interrogation of Grbader

Den again took the mother-in-law's money. It is the 500,000 euros that the first current defendant paid to Meinl Bank in 2005 – in cash. He did not ask for a voucher for the deposit, everything was stored in the bank anyway, Grbader said. He reiterated that it was money that he was supposed to spend on his mother-in-law. He had heard of "no money", the money was – including the profit – flowed back. "Why should I, from where I come from a humble background, give money to my wife's wealthy family?" Everything was "legal" expired, with the sale of federal housing (Buwog) also have the money.

of the trial of yesterday – in which Judge Grbader reprimanded – read here .