"Turkish Cleaning Crew"? Seven Trial Stages, 20 Witnesses, 100 Documents - And No Evidence
A Vienna court has ordered the confiscation of Peter Pilz’s book Pilnacek: Der Tod des Sektionschefs following a defamation case. The ruling, not yet final, requires the publisher Zack Media to pay €57,000 in damages to four police officers named in the publication. Pilz has now filed a full appeal against the decision.
The book accused the officers of being part of a so-called 'turquoise cleanup crew', allegedly obstructing investigations on behalf of the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP).
The trial spanned seven days, with 20 witnesses called and over 100 documents examined. Despite the extensive proceedings, the judge ruled that Pilz had failed to provide conclusive evidence for his claims. In his verdict, he stated that no 'smoking gun' could be found in the case files.
Zack Media, the publisher, currently faces financial difficulties, reporting a negative balance of around €34,000. Meanwhile, Pilz himself has earned an estimated €700,000 from book sales, event ticket revenues, donations, and subscriptions to his website. Pilz has already announced plans for a follow-up book, describing the ruling as a 'clear miscarriage of justice' by a 'fair judge'. The case will now move to the next legal stage, while hearings in a parliamentary investigative committee are scheduled to begin in January.
The court’s decision means the book will be withdrawn from circulation unless the appeal succeeds. The four officers named in the publication are set to receive €57,000 in compensation. Further developments will depend on the outcome of the appeal and the upcoming parliamentary hearings.
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