Chronicle
The third day of negotiations began with an interruption. It was regarding a testimony from a judge in the judge’s room. The bias of the associate judge was then discussed.
A substitute jury wanted to resign because of a statement in the jury room. Defense attorney Michael Rami demanded that the associate judge be removed. The lawyers joined the motion. Earlier, Judge Michael Tolstiuk submitted a jury’s letter. In it he said that he wanted to retire as lay judge. The reason for this is an incident in the chamber of judges on November 8th. There, a jury is said to have asked how long the hearing would last. The judge-assessor is said to have replied: “So long until everyone is convicted!”
Judge Tolstiuk projected the letter onto the wall of the grand jury because he wanted full transparency. In a conversation with the lay judge, he clarified the misunderstanding, which he confirmed. At the request of defense attorney Rami, the hearing was then interrupted, and the lay judges were then questioned individually regarding the incident. However, there was no extensive support for the colleague. The hearing was interrupted once more.
Chorherr denies allegations
The ex-planning spokesman for the Greens is accused of having demanded or accepted payments for the association from well-known real estate companies. This supports aid projects in Africa. In return, the donors are said to have promised themselves advantages in the dedication process. The Economic and Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (WKStA) accuses Chorherr of abuse of office and bribery, the entrepreneurs’ provision for abuse of office and bribery in various forms of participation.
All relevant dedications listed in the indictment would have been made in the same way without donations, Chorherr stated during the course of the trial. His political actions were not influenced. But no donor asked for it either. He only favored those 500 children who still attend these schools today, Chorherr assured.
