False testimony

“Sports friend” of Seisenbacher sentenced

Former Olympic champion Peter Seisenbacher at his trial in 2019.

(Bild: APA/HERBERT NEUBAUER, Krone KREATIV)

More than a decade has passed since the abuse committed by former judoka Peter Seisenbacher. The now 64-year-old has already been convicted, served most of his five-year prison sentence and is now free again. However, the trial against the former athlete is now back on the agenda at the Vienna Regional Court.

Peter Seisenbacher kept the Austrian judiciary on its toes for years: allegations of abuse against the two-time Olympic champion emerged in 2013. Three years later, he fled to Ukraine, but was arrested there a few months later. In a high-profile trial in 2019, the now 64-year-old was sentenced to five years in prison - abuse had taken place in his judo club. 

Seisenbacher already released
In November 2022, after serving two-thirds of his sentence, the ex-judoka was finally conditionally released from Graz-Karlau prison. And yet, years later, the trial is now back on the agenda at the Vienna Regional Court. "The public prosecutor accuses the defendant of giving false evidence in the well-known case against Peter Seisenbacher," the prosecutor begins. 

Testimony or interpretation?
A 65-year-old man who already played a role in the abuse proceedings has to take his seat in the courtroom - as a witness. Over a decade ago, the man, who also came from the judo scene, recorded a conversation with Seisenbacher at the police station. When asked about the allegations of abuse, the former professional athlete told him that the victims had already reached the "permitted age". During the trial six years later, he finally rowed back, stating before the jury that he had only interpreted Seisenbacher's facial expressions and gestures in this way. 

I never thought that anything would come of it after my testimony, because I held Peter in high esteem as a sporting friend. We were always correct.

65-Jähriger im Wiener Landesgericht.

However, the pensioner in the Viennese countryside is not aware of any guilt: "I always tried to tell the truth. I never thought that anything would come of it after my testimony, because I held Peter in high esteem as a sporting friend. We were always correct. I passed on what I felt at the time." After all this time, he could no longer remember anything more. 

Defense speaks of nuances
The fact is, however, that his statements to the police and those in court during the abuse trial do not match, the prosecutor states - one of them must be false. However, his defense lawyer Bernhard Lehofer appeals to Ms. Rat: "This is a nuance that you have to admit to someone six years later. It's not a false statement."

But she sees it differently. The 65-year-old's statement made a big difference in the assessment of the evidence. After all, this would also have been reflected in the page-long reasons for the verdict against Seisenbacher. In addition: "I think you remember such details when it comes to an accusation like the abuse of a child." So the ex-judoka's "sporting friend" handed down a three-month conditional prison sentence - not legally binding.