BVT documents

Abuse of office? Further charges against Jenewein

Hans-Jörg Jenewein himself was targeted by investigators in the BVT affair.

(Bild: APA/Herbert Neubauer)

The former FPÖ top politician Hans-Jörg Jenewein is now facing further charges. The Vienna public prosecutor's office accuses the 50-year-old of having obtained confidential documents from the Ministry of the Interior via a female civil servant, who has also been charged, and passing them on to journalists.

Specifically, it concerns documents relating to two meetings of European intelligence and secret services as well as confidential e-mail correspondence from the Ministry of the Interior. The information was allegedly passed on between October 30, 2018 and May 9, 2019, when Jenewein was a member of the BVT investigative committee.

Up to five years in prison
As a "designated offender", he is alleged to have persuaded the second defendant to hand over the confidential documents, which are said to include a transcript of the witness examination of SPÖ politician Franz Schnabl. The penalty ranges from six months to five years imprisonment.

ÖVP sees "Kickl system" put to the test
The public prosecutor's office is convinced that Jenewein was aware of the regulations on the use and publication of confidential documents during his work as a member of the U-Committee. In the opinion of ÖVP General Secretary Christian Stocker, the "Kickl system" is facing a crucial test with the indictment. Jenewein had previously been known as FPÖ chairman Herbert Kickl's "man for the rough stuff". "You can also see how nervous the FPÖ leader is from the fact that he took Jenewein back into his care a few weeks ago as a precautionary measure and granted him a job as a parliamentary employee in the Freedom Party parliamentary club," Stocker found.

Jenewein's employment in the blue club has also recently caused trouble in the Vienna FPÖ. The former member of the National Council is said to have reported functionaries of the Vienna FPÖ. Vienna's FPÖ leader Dominik Nepp had assured that the FPÖ city hall club would not employ anyone who had acted in this way against their own party.

In connection with the affair surrounding the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counter-Terrorism, the FPÖ politician is also accused of violating official secrecy. Jenewein is currently on trial together with Egisto Ott, the former chief inspector of the disbanded BVT. Ott is also alleged to have instructed an official there to obtain information on participants in a meeting of European intelligence services on Jenewein's behalf. Both had pleaded not guilty at the start of the trial in November.