New investigation into the Zurich court scandal opened

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Last December, Blick revealed how the Zurich Ministry of Justice had been careless in disposing of computers for years. Hard drives containing unencrypted, highly sensitive data found their way into the Zurich environment. If the authorities had their way, the public would never have known about it.

As is now known, there is movement in the investigations that have been running since November 2020. The public prosecutor’s office in Zurich has opened another criminal investigation into the judicial scandal – on suspicion of improper conduct in office. This is reported by the “Tages-Anzeiger”. The investigations would have been running against unknown persons since the end of 2022.

Investigations now also against officials

The public prosecutor’s office has so far only investigated the well-known Zurich environmental figure Roland Gisler (58). The convicted drug dealer – according to the allegation – would have obtained the hard drives of the Justice Department through his brother and thus put pressure on judges and prosecutors. He was therefore imprisoned for several months.

The new investigations are now being conducted by Public Prosecutor III, who specializes in white-collar crime and international legal assistance. Under the law, “members of an authority or officers who, in a legal transaction, harm the public interests they are required to protect in order to obtain an undue advantage for themselves or another person” may be punished for improper conduct in office.

External investigations required

The proceedings are directed against unknown persons – although according to the interrogation protocols, the law enforcement authorities have had the names and roles of those responsible in the judiciary and their external service provider for about two years, the “Tages-Anzeiger” writes.

This can be for tactical reasons. Because “criminal proceedings against an official require the authorization of the Zurich Supreme Court,” said Markus Oertle. Oertle was senior prosecutor in Zurich until his retirement last year.

Oertle was surprised that the Zurich prosecutor’s office, which was affected by the data breach, carried out the investigation itself: “It is clear to me that if you really want to shed light on the matter, a prosecutor’s office outside the canton should conduct the criminal investigation.”

The cantonal council also conducted an investigation

At the beginning of the year, the current Zurich justice director Jacqueline Fehr (59, SP) had to put questions to the cantonal council. There, the SP government councilor was calm: “I am interested in a political finery. Because I have been in charge since 2015. I am faced with any political investigation.”

At the end of January, the audit committee of the cantonal council decided to ask a parliamentary committee of inquiry into the judicial data breach. It is the strictest means of parliamentary control, last used ten years ago in the canton of Zurich. (dba)

Source:Blick