Vienna‘s Supreme District Court has found former chancellor Sebastian Kurz not guilty on charges of giving false testimony to the Austrian parliament’s committee of inquiry into “IbizaGate,” the scandal that in 2019 caused the dissolution of the coalition government between the People’s Party (ÖVP) and the Freedom Party (FPÖ)

Today’s ruling overturns Sebastian Kurz’s original sentence of eight months in jail with suspended sentence. The former chancellor had testified in parliament about his role in appointing members of the supervisory board of state investment company Öbag, downplaying his influence and involvement. In the reasoning of today’s ruling, it is noted that Kurz’s answers “could not be considered false at the time, as they did not constitute a complete and definitive statement”. For his part, the Austrian politician argued that his testimony was not necessarily in accordance with the rules of procedure of the committee of inquiry, but concerned “political truth”, which, he said, could not be compared to statements made in court. “My aim was not to say something wrong,” he said.

In contrast, former cabinet chief Bernhard Bonelli was again found guilty of falsely downplaying Sebastian Kurz’s participation in the selection process of the supervisory board’s executives.