Fines imposed

Jenewein falsified corona test for Hafenecker

Former FPÖ politician Hans-Jörg Jenewein (right) falsified corona tests for party friends, including the current Secretary General Christian Hafenecker (left).

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/APA/HANS PUNZ, APA/HELMUT FOHRINGER, APA/AFP/Ina FASSBENDER)

A bang in the small district court in Purkersdorf near Vienna: FPÖ Secretary General Christian Hafenecker and former FPÖ MP Hans-Jörg Jenewein were sentenced on Tuesday for forging coronavirus test certificates. They received fines of 2100 and 5100 euros respectively.

The forged tests were issued for attending a European Championship soccer match in Budapest in June 2021. In addition to Hafenecker and Jenewein, Hafenecker's wife, a member of parliament and a friend of Hafenecker and FPÖ local councillor were also charged. The wife and the local councillor were acquitted because they had not played a decisive role. 

Hafenecker's member of parliament had confessed and taken the blame. However, the judge did not accept this and saw Hafenecker as a determined offender. He said that the MP, as a superior, could not absolve himself of responsibility. The latter lodged an appeal.

A total of 20 falsified tests
Jenewein was charged as the direct perpetrator and confessed to having falsified a total of 20 tests. The judge said that the sentence for Jenewein was not easy for him because he had falsified many tests. However, he was in an exceptional situation. He received a higher sentence in daily rates (50) than Hafenecker (15). However, the sentence is lower because "he deserves less", according to the judge.

Media interest at the Purkersdorf District Court, but FPÖ General Secretary Hafenecker stayed away from the hearing on Tuesday.

(Bild: APA/MAX SLOVENCIK)

Jenewein justifies falsifications with his wife's illness
The investigations were triggered by a chance discovery on Jenewein's cell phone. He justified the forgeries with the serious illness of his wife, who has since died. As they both had to go to hospital all the time, he had started to falsify tests in order to gain access to the hospital. Jenewein's lawyer explained in court that he had told his circle of acquaintances about this and it had emerged that he had also forged tests for others. The former mandatary and confidant of FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl regrets his actions in retrospect, his lawyer said at the hearing.

Hafenecker family stays away from the trial and remains silent
Haferecker's confessed employee testified in court in the afternoon that everyone had done real tests and that he had made the fake certificates as a "backup". Hafenecker and his wife, who traveled to Budapest in June 2021 with their son, who was a minor at the time, the parliamentary employee and the local councillor friend, stayed away from the main hearing on Tuesday. Their lawyer exercised the right to refuse to testify on their behalf. They pleaded not guilty and pointed out that they had also carried out "real" tests that day, which were negative. However, some of these did not arrive on time and were not necessary.

Not the only affair involving Jenewein
The test falsification is not the only affair surrounding Jenewein. He is also involved in the BVT scandal surrounding the suspected Russian spy Egisto Ott. He is said to have been in close contact with Ott. Prior to this, an anonymous complaint by Jenewein, which was actually filed and directed against the head of the Vienna FPÖ, caused a public uproar and a rift between the Freedom Party and Jenewein. Kickl has since distanced himself from the former FPÖ security spokesman.