Press release 28.10.09

Further e-mail agreement in the May 1 case

Alliance against police violence criticizes internal police agreements

Last week, revelations by Peter Pilz caused another scandal surrounding May Day in Linz. An officer who was confronted with accusations from a demonstrator was sent a ready-made "text proposal" for a "desirable statement content" by the head of operations, Lieutenant Colonel Christian Moser, by email. Mr. Moser is also the police officer on whose initiative a female demonstrator was arrested for "grievous bodily harm", whose case was subsequently dropped by the public prosecutor's office at the investigation stage due to a lack of criminal liability.

So far, we have a police video that did not find its way to court, a file note leading to an indictment that was signed by a handful of police officers who had to admit in court that they had not even noticed the facts described therein and a police officer's conduct that - in Peter Pilz's opinion - at least fulfills the objective offence of "incitement to give false evidence"

Now there are further indications that _this practice is not an isolated case_: In the preliminary proceedings that preceded the second acquittal in September, the investigating criminal police officer S. also asked the police officer GI F., who was called as a witness at the trial, to _coordinate his report with that of his colleague RI G.:

"Dear colleagues. I ask you for a statement on the above-mentioned official act, for the part where you were present at the official act or were involved with the accused/offender Z. For coll. F.: see report coll. G. and also for information on who the target was. (presumably file E., 23395/2009)"

As a result of this investigation process, two almost identical official notes were found in the file. Both the e-mail and excerpts from the two official notes can be found as .pdf files attached to this mailing. Compare for yourself.

On this matter, the victims' lawyer Rene Haumer wrote in the statement of facts to the Office of Internal Affairs: "From a criminal law perspective, it will also have to be assessed that in the investigation [...] the investigating criminal police officer provided Mr. GI [...] with the official note prepared by Mr. RI [...] on the events on 1 May 2009. An outside observer might get the impression that the two police officers were supposed to take uniform, coordinated responsibility. This is all the more the case when one considers that the reports of both police officers are almost word-for-word identical, but Mr. GI [...] relativized his written account in the main hearing of 17.9.2009 in the decisive points."

"/This practice casts a very dubious light on the Linz police and gives rise to the suspicion that this form of collusion is not an isolated incident/", state the alliance spokespersons Vanessa Gaigg and Christian Diabl

"The "Alliance against Police Violence" calls on those responsible, Lißl and Widholm, to "get to the bottom of these events and not allow trust in our constitutional state to be further eroded/", Gaigg and Diabl continue.

"/Especially in light of the latest findings surrounding the incidents in Krems, allegations of spying and the various committees of inquiry, police structures and misunderstood esprit de corps must finally be questioned/", Gaigg and Diabl conclude.

For further information please contact: Christian Diabl, Vanessa Gaigg- 0650/2728398

http://gegenpolizeigewalt.servus.at
againstpoliceviolence(at)servus.at