The “Kurier” reports this in its Friday edition. Ott has been in custody since April 1st. According to the information, he plans to submit an application for release from custody in the coming weeks, having recently waived a detention hearing.
“He’s being made a scapegoat”
“Mr. Ott denies all allegations. It is an absurd construct, the evidence is more than thin. He is being made a scapegoat here,” the newspaper quoted lawyer Jürgen Stephan Mertens as saying. He felt the need to reject reports that his client had made a confession: “That’s absurd.”
“No one is doing well” in custody, said the lawyer. But the hunger strike that his client announced when he was arrested in Paternion (Carinthia) is no longer relevant. The 61-year-old Ott is in solitary confinement in pre-trial detention in Vienna-Josefstadt “for protection reasons”.
Russian secret service supplied with data
Ott has been under investigation by the Vienna prosecution since 2017 for, among other things, abuse of office, secret intelligence to the detriment of Austria and violation of official secrecy. The arrest was preceded by recent information that Ott is said to have handed over cell phone contents of top officials to Russian spies. Ott is said to have “systematically” provided the Russian secret service with secret, strictly confidential facts and findings from the Office for the Protection of the Constitution as well as personal data from police databases.
