Vienna-Based Lawyer Claims Strache Video Part Of Journalist Investigation - Reports

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th May, 2019) A Vienna-based lawyer said that the video record as a result of whose release Heinz-Christian Strache resigned from the position of the vice-chancellor, was made as part of a journalist investigation but denied it had any criminal implications, the Austrian Kurier news outlet reported, citing a letter by the lawyer's attorney Richard Soyer.

Johann Gudenus, the former Freedom Party (FPO) deputy chairman, who was also shown in the video, has said that some lawyer from Vienna and an intermediary from Germany, had been behind the video. The Vienna chamber of lawyers is currently looking into the claims. Strache, the FPO leader, on Friday, filed a legal complaint against three individuals, allegedly involved in the creation of the video recording, allegedly showing him discussing the possibility of receiving help at the legislative elections with a purported Russian woman on Ibiza back in 2017.

Kurier reported on Friday that it and the OE1 broadcaster had received an unusual letter. It claimed that the Vienna-based lawyer said via Soyer that "the Ibiza video is a project inspired by the ideas of a civil society, whose realization involved methods of investigative journalism."

The letter added that the "hidden camera recording carried out as part of journalist investigations for unraveling violations is protected by the freedom of expression.

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Kurier noted, however, that it was unclear if the lawyer had a press card and if he had published any materials before.

"Anyway, my client did not perform any illegal actions and was not involved in such actions," Soyer said in the letter.

The video was released by two major German news outlets last Friday, a week before the European Parliament elections. Spiegel and Suddeutsche Zeitung reported, citing the video, that Strache had allegedly discussed the possibility of an acquisition of the Kronen Zeitung newspaper by alleged Russian national Alyona Makarova with her in order to secure help at the legislative elections in 2017. The outlets claimed that other million-euro deals were discussed at the meetings, including access to government contracts in exchange for helping the FPO.

Notably, the outlets noted that the video had been a trap for the politician, who has been a supporter of lifting EU anti-Russia sanctions and normalizing ties with Moscow.

Strache himself called the situation a political murder but was forced to resign, while Chancellor Sebastian Kurz withdrew from the coalition with the FPO and called snap parliamentary elections.