Ex-"Aula" Editor-in-Chief Convicted for Re-engagement in National Socialist Activities

Martin Pfeiffer, the former editor-in-chief of the now-defunct magazine "Aula", was sentenced to four years in prison by the Graz Regional Criminal Court on Wednesday. The jury found him guilty, among other things, of re-engagement in Nazi activities. The convicted was accused of promoting racial doctrine, anti-Semitism, and other Nazi stereotypes in the magazine over the years. The verdict is not yet legally binding.

Verdict Announcement in "Aula" Trial: Almost Seven Hours of Pure Reading Time

The accused had always denied the allegations. His defense attorney Bernhard Lehofer requested three days of reflection time for his client after the guilty verdict, while prosecutor Christian Kroschl made no statement. Therefore, it is still unclear whether the verdict will go to the next instance. The trial was unusual for several reasons: Firstly, due to the long duration of the proceedings, which lasted seven years. This was considered mitigating by Judge Erik Nauta and the two associate judges when determining the sentence, as otherwise, the sentence would have been five years, explained the presiding judge.

Secondly, the extensive indictment with about 300 articles and texts from "Aula" and the correspondingly long list of questions for the jury was a novelty in Austrian jurisprudence. The reading of the questions by the judge alone took a day and a half. The reading of the verdict by the jury on Wednesday took almost seven hours of pure reading time. Even for experienced readers, this was a challenge, as reading out the questions, written in complex legal language, aloud for hours requires perseverance - especially from the lay judges.

Pfeiffer was convicted not under Paragraph 3d of the Prohibition Act, as charged, but under 3g - re-engagement in Nazi activities. On the first main question, which concerned Paragraph 3d, the eight jurors were not unanimous in their three-hour deliberation on Tuesday afternoon. They voted four to four, which meant there was no conviction due to doubt. A conviction under Paragraph 3d would have resulted in a sentence of at least five and up to ten years. Paragraph 3g, on the other hand, provides for a sentence of one to ten years.

It was not until late afternoon that the decision on the extension of the indictment to include Paragraph 3h was also read: In this case, the jury decided six to two for a conviction. Prosecutor Kroschl accused the defendant of trivializing Nazi crimes with his answers during the ongoing trial. The jury mostly agreed. Thus, Pfeiffer was convicted under Paragraphs 3g and 3h of the Prohibition Act.

Mitigating and Aggravating Factors

Judge Nauta justified the four-year prison sentence, among other things, with the large number of offenses and the long period of the crime. In addition, several offenses came together. Mitigating factors included the long duration of the proceedings and the previously unblemished lifestyle of the former editor-in-chief.

The prosecution had listed the approximately 300 articles from the now-discontinued magazine, which allegedly propagated racial doctrine and anti-Semitism. They were discussed individually in sometimes long days of negotiations with the jurors. Pfeiffer, during his time as editor-in-chief, was also an FPÖ district politician in Graz and has always denied all allegations. He is accused of having provided a platform in the "Aula" for racism, master race and ethnic thinking, as well as a biologically racist concept of people and National Socialist racial theories, according to the prosecution.

The period of the crime is considered to be from 2005 to June 2018, during which Pfeiffer allegedly used "National Socialist propaganda stereotypes" in published articles as an author. This was supposed to incite others to re-engage in National Socialism (Paragraph 3d), but this accusation did not hold.

SOS Mitmensch: "Aula" Verdict a "Political Catastrophe" for FPÖ

The human rights organization SOS Mitmensch, which initiated the investigations by the Graz public prosecutor's office with a complaint, described the verdict "in view of the close ties with the FPÖ as a 'political catastrophe'". The first-instance conviction also targeted the FPÖ, as their politicians "co-operated and financially supported the magazine," according to SOS Mitmensch.

"I do not understand why the authorities did not want to intervene here for decades. All the more important is now the landmark verdict that was delivered today at the Graz Regional Criminal Court: NS glorification is not an opinion, but a crime," said Lukas Hammer, spokesperson for the Greens for right-wing extremism and memorial policy, in a statement.

According to the SPÖ, the verdict sends a clear signal: "National Socialist re-engagement has no place in Austria - not in the media, in public discourse, or online. Every case in which the Prohibition Act is applied shows anew how indispensable this law is and how vigilant we must remain as a democratic society." The close ties between the FPÖ and the "Aula" are shocking, according to the SPÖ. "This is not an isolated case, it is systemic. The FPÖ supported a magazine that, according to the court, spread National Socialist ideology for years," emphasized SPÖ federal manager Klaus Seltenheim.

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This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.