Roschacher affair

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The Roschacher affair , also Roschacher-Blocher affair , GPK affair or the Roschacher case , was a series of events in autumn 2007, immediately before the Swiss parliamentary elections, with a large number of actors from the Swiss Federal Prosecutor's Office , Federal Council and Parliament . Depending on your point of view, the real heart of the affair lies

  • in the investigative methods of Federal Prosecutor Valentin Roschacher ,
  • in the instructions from Justice Minister Christoph Blocher to Roschacher regarding media information,
  • in the circumstances of Roschacher's departure under Blocher,
  • in the lack of care and imbalance of the parliamentary business review commission (GPK) in its report,
  • in the suspicion of conspiracy against Blocher, hinted at by the sub-commission president, during the presentation of the report,
  • in the misleading of the GPK by the federal prosecutor, possibly for the purpose of an intrigue against Blocher, or
  • in the scandalization and instrumentalization of the events in the election campaign of the parliamentary elections.

It was named after the controversial former Swiss federal prosecutor Valentin Roschacher ( CVP ), who came under fire in mid-2006 for lack of efficiency in criminal prosecution and questionable investigative methods and resigned under Justice Minister Christoph Blocher. The National Council's business audit commission, which had to investigate the circumstances of this departure, sharply criticized Blocher in its report submitted at the end of 2007. When the report was presented, it was also suggested that Blocher could be involved in a plot to remove Roschacher ( Holenweger Papers ). The latter proved to be unfounded shortly afterwards.

The violence of the mutual accusations and the abundance of reports and counter-reports is unprecedented in the history of the Swiss federal state . The presentation of the GPK report took place in the middle of the election campaign for the Swiss parliamentary elections in 2007 and made a significant contribution to the fact that it went down in history as one of the more hateful.

Criticism of Valentin Roschacher

Valentin Roschacher (CVP) started his work as a Swiss Federal Prosecutor under Justice Minister Ruth Metzler (CVP) at the beginning of 2000 and was supposed to be head of the Federal Prosecutor's Office. a. Lead investigations into large money laundering cases.

The Federal Prosecutor, elected by the entire Federal Council for four years, heads the Federal Prosecutor's Office, the criminal prosecution authority of the FDJP , which reports to the Minister of Justice. The Federal Prosecutor's Office is in charge of judicial investigations and major preliminary investigations of the Federal Criminal Police Department of the Federal Office of Police (fedpol) of the FDJP. Preliminary investigations following these preliminary investigations are carried out by the Federal Examining Judge Office.

Despite some spectacular actions (e.g. the confiscation of CHF 6.5 million Yukos money) and a great deal of investigative effort, Roschacher was only able to provide a few usable results. In an interim supervisory report from July 2006, it says: “The Board of Appeal finally found with a certain astonishment that the Federal Prosecutor and his closest collaborators in particular locate the cause of the lack of indictments anywhere else, just not with their own authorities. [...] The clearly unsatisfactory result cannot be reasonably explained in view of the available resources. The Federal Prosecutor is ultimately responsible for this as the head of the Federal Prosecutor's Office and supervisory authority over the BKP »

In mid-2006, several cases of investigations became known in which the Federal Prosecutor's Office was operating in a legal gray area.

Ramos case

The so-called Ramos case , which journalist Daniel Ammann published in several articles from mid-2005 onwards in the Weltwoche, weighed particularly heavily .

At the instigation of Valentin Roschacher, José Manuel Ramos traveled to Switzerland at the end of 2002 . As a leading member of the Medellín Cartel, Ramos had been sentenced to two life sentences plus 20 years for drug trafficking and money laundering in the United States in 1991 . In return for the promised massive reduction in the sentence, he committed himself to an "undercover role" with the US Department of Justice and to statements about his leadership role in the cocaine trade. His request for release from prison was rejected by the judge in 1998 because Ramos failed to keep to the agreement and provided untruthful information. He was released in July 2001 for unknown reasons.

According to Roschacher, Ramos had valuable “information and evidence on drug accounts in Switzerland”, which would enable “drug money in large quantities” to be withdrawn from circulation. As a so-called “person of trust” he was supposed to “actively establish contacts” in order to uncover cases of money laundering, and received a total of around 270,000 francs for this. The main objective was to expose the structure of the Colombian drug cartel in Switzerland and to confiscate profits invested in Switzerland.

Ramos' clues subsequently triggered extensive investigations, but they came to nothing. Employees of the Federal Criminal Police are said to have expressed the suspicion that Ramos sometimes generated the tips himself. He was expelled from Switzerland in mid-2004 because he had repeatedly violated rules agreed in writing and "had come into unauthorized contact with foreign, probably with American authorities". In a supervisory report it is stated that "the assumption cannot be dismissed out of hand that Ramos worked for the US law enforcement authorities during his stay in Switzerland."

Shortly after a much-noticed Weltwoche article dated June 1, 2006, the Board of Appeal of the Federal Criminal Court and the head of the FDJP each ordered extraordinary investigations in their area of ​​supervision. The results were summarized in the interim supervisory report “Ramos” of September 18, 2006 by the Board of Appeal ( Bernard Bertossa and Andreas Keller) and in the report on the administrative investigation in the Federal Prosecutor's Office of September 15, 2006 (“Lüthi” report). These reports described Ramos' commitment as "formally correct" and stated that no "applicable law had been violated". They examined the proceedings of the Federal Prosecutor's Office mainly from a formal legal point of view; whether it was appropriate and useful was not assessed.

Money laundering investigations against Oskar Holenweger

José Manuel Ramos informed in spring 2003, the Federal Criminal Police, he had learned of the existence of a "banker" who have given in Zurich on money laundering drug trafficking from from the Pablo Escobar - Clans derived assets to have been involved. This banker was still active in this area and had voluntarily agreed to be able to guarantee the investment of assets of illegal origin. He would even have mentioned the possibility of money laundering of assets derived from drug trafficking.

With this, Ramos provided the initial suspicion against Oskar Holenweger , at that time the main shareholder and managing director of Tempus Bank.

In August 2003, the federal prosecutor's office put an undercover agent on Holenweger, a German police officer at the Baden-Württemberg State Criminal Police Office . He posed to Holenweger as an asset manager who wanted to invest his assets, and brought around 830,000 euros in cash. Shortly afterwards he asked Holenweger to transfer the money back as soon as possible. He recorded the evidence that he had informed Holenweger about the bogus “drug origin” of the funds on tape. However, the tape recordings turned out to be “illegible”.

The end of 2003 this was picked up by an armed commando in his apartment and in custody plugged. The Federal Criminal Police justified the investigation by saying that Holenweger offered himself “in circles of international organized crime as a money launderer” and had “already worked for the Colombian drug cartels”.

After two years of investigation, during which Holenweger was shadowed, his phone was monitored, the employees questioned and the banking transactions were analyzed, the Federal Criminal Police could not find any concrete evidence for their allegations. An audit by KPMG on behalf of the Swiss Federal Banking Commission showed that of the transactions examined, only those of the undercover investigator showed "signs of money laundering". Oskar Holenweger had to give up his bank in April 2004, not least because of the accusations made by the federal prosecutor's office.

In May 2010, the Federal Prosecutor brought charges against Holenweger. She accused him of money laundering, forgery, unfaithful business management and bribery. The allegations of suspected drug money laundering have not been substantiated, this is only a subsidiary point of the indictment, since Holenweger consciously accepted drug money. Holenweger denied all the allegations made against him. On April 21, 2011, Holenweger was acquitted by the Federal Criminal Court in Lugano. "The Holenweger case has become the Federal Prosecutor's Office" noted DRS Info on DRS 3 . In October 2011, the Federal Prosecutor's Office decided not to pass the judgment on to a higher instance, so the judgment is final.

Resignation of Roschacher

The relationship between Roschacher and Metzler's successor in office, Christoph Blocher ( SVP ), was tense from the start; Roschacher had repeatedly refused to provide his (administrative) boss with information and Blocher could not be reached for days. According to a GPK member, the relationship between Roschacher and Ruth Metzler had already been "special"; Roschacher had "repeatedly caused difficulties" years before Blocher.

Finally, on July 5, 2006, Roschacher announced his resignation at the end of 2006, whereby Blocher awarded him a severance payment of an annual salary without submitting the business to the entire Federal Council. The resignation came around a month after the aforementioned Weltwoche article on the Ramos case.

Whether Roschacher resigned under pressure from the Federal Council is controversial.

Investigation of the departure of Roschacher by the GPK-N

The National Council's Business Audit Commission (GPK-N) formed the FDJP / BK sub-commission on June 26, 2006, under the leadership of the CVP National Councilor Lucrezia Meier-Schatz , in order to “deal with the various investigation reports on the Federal Prosecutor's Office and the other federal law enforcement authorities, and others if necessary To clarify. " In addition to the review of the implementation and results of four investigations carried out by the supervisory authorities in 2006, she concentrated on the Ramos case and the circumstances surrounding the resignation of Valentin Roschacher.

One of the pivotal points of the affair was the controversial report of this subcommittee, in which Federal Councilor Christoph Blocher is accused of having issued inadmissible instructions to the federal prosecutor regarding media information in ongoing proceedings and of having awarded severance payments without a legal basis. This is "problematic in terms of the rule of law".

When Lucrezia Meier-Schatz ( CVP ) presented the report at the press conference on September 5, 2007 , the case took on a new twist: Meier-Schatz explained that Oskar Holenweger had found documents (the Holenweger papers ) whose contents were conspicuous Show parallels to later events in connection with Roschacher's departure. She explained in detail the content and assumed meaning of the papers. As a result, there was talk of an "H-Plan" aimed at bringing Roschacher down, and in which Federal Councilor Blocher would also have been involved.

The next day the SP asked the Federal Council to withdraw part of his department from Blocher with the supervision of the federal prosecutor's office. This is necessary as long as the references to a secret plan against Roschacher are not invalidated.

Blocher opponents and supporters agreed in the assessment that Blocher would not be able to stay in the Federal Council if the accusation of a conspiracy - a criminal offense - were to be confirmed.

Report of the sub-commission FDJP / BK of the GPK-N

From the end of August 2006 to January 2007, the sub-commission held hearings of all the authorities concerned and the authors of the investigation reports. She obtained written comments on open questions and requested the surrender of individual files. The subcommittee held a total of twelve meetings as part of this investigation. The minutes of the FDJP / BK sub-commission are confidential (Art. 47 ParlG).

Composition of the sub-committee:

The sub-committee FDJP / BK adopted its 100-page report on August 14, 2007 (with 6 to 4 votes, including 3 against SVP representatives), which approved it on September 5, 2007 (with 16 to 6 votes) and for the Release released.

The report of the sub-commission

  • summarizes some reports that have already been drawn up on the work of the federal criminal authorities, namely:
  • Interim supervisory report "Indictments" of the Federal Criminal Court's Board of Appeal from July 14, 2006
  • Interim supervisory report «Ramos» of the Board of Appeal of the Federal Criminal Court of September 18, 2006
  • Administrative investigation in the Federal Prosecutor's Office (“Lüthi” report) from September 15, 2006
  • Situation analysis EffVor (report «Uster») from August 31, 2006
  • investigates the allegations against Roschacher in the Ramos case
  • investigates the circumstances of Roschacher's resignation.
  • assesses the current system of shared (administrative or technical) supervision of the Federal Prosecutor's Office, which is intended to ensure the Federal Prosecutor's Office's independence.

With the exception of the Ramos case, Roschacher's behavior was not investigated until 2004, after Federal Councilor Christoph Blocher took office. According to his own statement, Max Binder (SVP) has applied several times to the sub-commission to shed light on the history of the federal prosecutor from employment to termination. The majority of the sub-commission always rejected this.

Regarding the Ramos case and the resignation of Valentin Roschacher, the report claims:

  • In the Ramos case, Roschacher was only the initiator. The Federal Criminal Police bear sole responsibility for the specific operation. In addition, the GPK-N could not judge whether the use of Ramos was appropriate.
  • Blocher gave Roschacher a written “warning and sharp reprimand” shortly after Whitsun 2006 for refusal to provide information, unavailability, refusal to talk and disloyal behavior, combined with a threat of dismissal.
  • The resignation of the federal prosecutor was not voluntary. Blocher terminated the employment relationship with Roschacher without there being any grounds for termination within the meaning of the Personnel Act.
  • Blocher did not inform the entire Federal Council, which was solely responsible for the termination of the employment relationship, of the complaints and threats of termination. With his approach Blocher bypassed the entire Federal Council and exceeded his powers.
  • In the area of ​​media information about ongoing investigative proceedings, Blocher issued unauthorized instructions to the federal prosecutor and thus interfered with the independence of the federal prosecutor.
  • The entire Federal Council had not fulfilled its responsibility as the electoral and supervisory authority of the federal prosecutor.

As far as the supervision of the Federal Prosecutor's Office is concerned, the sub-commission came to the conclusion that the legal basis for the system of shared supervision was partially incomplete and not clear enough.

Suspicion of conspiracy against Christoph Blocher, Holenweger Papers

Oskar Holenweger (see the section on money laundering investigations against Oskar Holenweger ) “snuck around” the Baden-Württemberg State Criminal Police Office in Stuttgart on March 26, 2007 . He was temporarily detained and searched by the German police . Among other things, one found in him:

  • a multi-page schedule (H-Plan), folded into the agenda
  • a digital camera with photos from flipcharts
  • Phone lists

The documents later became known as the Holenweger Papers . The Federal Investigating Judge Ernst Roduner (SP) received the documents through mutual assistance proceedings , after which they reached the Federal Prosecutor's Office. On August 8, the then interim head of the Federal Prosecutor's Office, Michel-André Fels (FDP), and his colleague Alberto Fabbri informed the president of the sub-commission (Lucrezia Meier-Schatz, CVP), the president of the GPK ( Jean-Paul Glasson , FDP) and two representatives of the GPK secretariat "urgent" and "confidential" about "serious" news. On August 14, 2007, when the report was completed and approved by the sub-commission for the attention of the GPK, they reported to the sub-commission about the documents found at Holenweger and showed photos of the H-Plan and four flipcharts in a PowerPoint presentation. The documents are likely to be a schedule for the preparation, implementation and follow-up of the dismissal of the federal prosecutor (who does what by when and informs whom) around June 1, 2006, the publication date of the World Week article. With a relatively high degree of probability, they were created in advance of the events and were written by at least two different people. For legal reasons, the documents were not allowed to be handed over to the sub-commission outside of legal proceedings.

On September 2, 2007, the Tages-Anzeiger wrote that there had been a conspiracy against Valentin Roschacher: “It is not yet clear who directed it. But there was a kind of secret script for the play, with which the then Federal Prosecutor Valentin Roschacher was pushed out of office in the early summer of 2006 ». This has been learned from reliable sources. On September 4, 2007, the content was the GPK report already for unpublished glance leaked. The report shows how Justice Minister Christoph Blocher threw Federal Prosecutor Valentin Roschacher out of office, the view summarized.

On September 5, 2007 11 am: Federal Councilor Couchepin announced in the regular Wednesday press conference of the Federal Council that the Federal Council wants to appoint an independent legal advisor to the GPK report on the departure of Federal Prosecutor Roschacher.

September 5, 2007 2 p.m. in Murten: The GPK-N released the report of the FDJP / BK sub-commission for publication. Because of the media reports on the report and the Holenweger Papers based on indiscretions, the sub-commission decided to present the GPK report on the same day instead of two days later as planned.

September 5, 2007 5pm in Bern: Federal Councilor Blocher gave an extraordinary press conference where he denied any allegations of conspiracy.

Lucrezia Meier-Schatz and Jean-Paul Glasson presented the report at the press conference on the evening (8:00 p.m.) on September 5, 2007. Meier-Schatz briefly summarized its content and in the second half of the press conference went into the "new findings" (or the "new elements", as Glasson called them) in detail. Glasson then justified the procedure of the GPK and informed about the fact that the GPK had given the sub-commission FDJP / BK the order to procure and examine the "new elements".

Meier-Schatz said:

  • The sub-commission had been confronted with “new findings” that were of considerable, even state-political, scope and politically explosive. The question is whether there was a specific plan for weakening and dismissing the Federal Prosecutor, on which political exponents or authorities were involved.
  • The FDJP could be described as affected by the content of the new documents.
  • The German police found a camera with Oskar Holenweger with recordings of planning sheets (flipcharts) - dated on Whit Sunday June 4, 2006 and June 7, 2006 - and an undated “so-called H-Plan”. This H-Plan is probably a time schedule for the preparation, implementation and follow-up of the dismissal of the Federal Prosecutor, based on the motto: who does what by when and informs whom.
  • The planning seems to show parallels with the chronology of the interpellations and media reports directed against the Federal Prosecutor's Office.
  • Numerous abbreviations of names can be found on the H-Plan and flipcharts, some of which can be clearly assigned to individual people, including journalists and national councilors. The sub-commission knows who has worked.
  • Interestingly, there are various signatures on the flipcharts.

When answering journalists' questions, Jean-Paul Glasson emphasized that the "new elements" had not yet been processed and that more precise statements were therefore speculative. Lucrezia Meier-Schatz, with obvious pleasure, casually gave some fragmentary information that clearly pointed in the direction of Blocher. Meier-Schatz replied to journalists' questions:

  • No new information about the material could be published before the elections, not even in the next weeks and months. Because it is important to get the documents first and to do a profound, serious job.
  • The investigation must show whether the H plan was drawn up before or after “the events”. You couldn't classify it that clearly at the moment.
  • The abbreviation “CB” and the text “4. 6. Burg »appears in these plans or flipcharts (« Burg »was interpreted by many as a code for Rhäzüns Castle , Blocher's second home).
  • It is not known whether Blocher had to know about these plans. It is a matter of clarification to find out.

Meier-Schatz thus exposed Federal Councilor Blocher to the suspicion of having been involved in a criminal act, although she assumed that the suspicion could neither be substantiated nor refuted for months. The articles about the presentation of the GPK report in the daily newspapers had titles such as “Plot plans against Federal Prosecutor Roschacher”, “Indications for a plot found”. or "Blocher under suspicion".

On September 6, 2007, the day after the GPK press conference, Christoph Mörgeli (SVP) surprisingly presented the “originals” of the Holenweger papers to the media, which he had received in a very short time after a telephone call from Oskar Holenweger. These are 16 color pictures from a digital camera of hand-drawn sketches and a three-page printed telephone list. The Weltwoche made the documents on the same day to the public. In a letter, Mörgeli informed the sub-commission that he was available to produce the original documents, to express his opinion and to answer any questions. In corresponding media reports, the surprise was expressed that such serious suspicions (“political implications”) were based on such thin facts - even if they were to be correct. The potential state affair now looks more like a smear comedy that makes you smile.

Oskar Hollenweger himself later stated the following in a press release about his lawyer:

  • «The flip charts were used as a personal guide and were only used in discussions within the family or during phone calls with my lawyer. [...] Not a single line on the flip charts comes from a third party. "
  • «The so-called H list was a personal, unsystematic guide. [...] None of the persons listed knew about this list or participated in its creation. It was neither a conspiracy plan, nor were the parliamentarians in question at any time informed of an alleged plan or were they even involved in it. "

The analysis of the documents obtained by Mörgeli showed:

  • The flipcharts show unsystematic - some say confused - notes that leave a lot of space for speculation when interpreted by bystanders.
  • Of the 13 published flipcharts, four are undated. Four papers are labeled with a date before July 5, 2006 (the day of Roschacher's declaration of resignation), five papers with a date afterwards .
  • None of the papers contain the abbreviation "CB".
  • The existence and meaning of the word “castle” on one of the papers is controversial. The Weltwoche interprets it as an abbreviation for the then Tages-Anzeiger editor Hanspeter Bürgin. Holenweger himself reads the manuscript as "Bwg", according to Christoph Mörgeli.
  • The papers do not have any signatures.
  • A forensic comparison of writing by the Zurich cantonal police's document laboratory on behalf of the GPK-N showed that the "writing performance in question on most flipcharts [...] was almost certainly created by Oskar Holenweger" and none of the documents were indicative of any Third party authorship existed.

There are no indications that members of the sub-commission had access to the Holenweger papers at the federal prosecutor's office after the presentation on August 14, 2007. The subcommittee therefore relied solely on the statements of the Federal Prosecutor's Office - precisely the authority whose behavior it had to assess, among other things. There are indications that the federal prosecutor's office intrigued against Blocher and made use of a gullible GPK. It has meanwhile been proven that the federal prosecutor's office had incorrectly informed the sub-commission about the Holenweger papers. In an interview, the President of the GPK-N, Jean-Paul Glasson (FDP), said the federal prosecutor's office acted negligently in the Holenweger case and misled the business audit commission. The GPK was presented with unsecured suspicions as facts.

A final assessment of the Holenweger paper is not possible because the German authorities have not yet responded to the request for legal assistance to hand over the relevant documents. Some questions remain unanswered. Nevertheless, all the alleged evidence of the existence of a plot against Roschacher and Blocher's involvement have proven to be false or improbable. In the follow-up investigations, the FDJP / BK sub-commission has not yet been able to uncover anything that would support the suspicions and assumptions made at the time.

Neither the GPK or the Federal Prosecutor's Office, nor the political parties and media who massively attacked Federal Councilor Blocher on the basis of the suspicion of a conspiracy have so far apologized to Blocher.

Reactions to the GPK report and press conference on September 5, 2007

Discussions in parliament and the media

The presentation of the report fell - around a month and a half before the parliamentary elections - in the final phase of an election campaign that was already more hateful than it was before.

For different reasons, both sides demanded a quick and complete clarification of the allegations against Blocher - according to the will of the SVP before the elections, for which the GPK did not want to give any guarantee. After SVP National Councilor Christoph Mörgeli was able to present the original documents to the public a day later - Mörgeli had received them directly from his “good friend” Holenweger - the GPK said they would take months to get them - the allegations of conspiracy fell GPK in itself.

The content of the GPK report was sharpened by representatives of the SP, CVP and FDP to say that Blocher had “ scratched the separation of powers ” and was endangering Switzerland's political system. In excited statements by parliamentarians and commentators, the line between outrage over a “serious violation of the separation of powers” ​​and outrage over a “pamphlet against Blocher” essentially ran along party lines.

This made the person of Federal Councilor Christoph Blocher completely a central election campaign issue; the SVP declared the elections to be a acid test on Blocher's continued presence in the Federal Council.

The parliamentary groups of SVP and SP demanded an urgent debate on the topic against the resistance of the CVP and FDP. This was conducted on October 3, 2007 and broadcast live on Swiss television .

Some of the statements made in this debate:

From SVP representatives
  • The GPK inflated personal notes on a widespread conspiracy and let the Federal Prosecutor's Office use it against Blocher. She trampled on legal proceedings and official secrecy by arbitrarily prejudicing, disregarding the right to be heard, violating personal rights and publishing protected personal data.
  • There could be no question of a "violation of the separation of powers" because the Federal Prosecutor, as the representative of the state, was a party before the court and did not belong to the judiciary.
  • The entire Federal Council itself expressly stated that Blocher had not exceeded his competencies and that he had fulfilled his obligation to the college.
  • The SVP called for the processes to be clarified before the elections.
From SP representatives
  • Blocher almost desperately looked for ways to leave out the entire Federal Council when the employment relationship with Roschacher was terminated. Judging by the Justice Minister's register of sins, that of the Federal Prosecutor was rather modest. That must have consequences for Blocher.
  • The SVP is poisoning Swiss politics and stirring up a climate of hatred and intolerance. With an investment of millions she launched the unspeakable secret plan story as a relief attack and fogging action and garnished it with the absurd putsch allegation against Meier-Schatz. There is nothing to these plot stories.
  • It is about nothing less than the institutions of our democracy.
From representatives of the Greens and the PdA
  • Blocher is clearly trying to respect the constitutional institutions. His criticism of the GPK and the Bundesrat undermines the authority of these institutions and is therefore untenable.
  • There is no Roschacher affair, only a Blocher affair.
From representatives of the CVP
  • The GPK had done a serious job in the sub-commission and the overall commission. The SVP tried to mock and despise the people involved in order to distract from the GPK report. This weakens Switzerland's position and is bad for democracy. It's about respect for the institutions.
From representatives of the FDP
  • With its attacks on the judiciary and the somewhat hasty GPK, the SVP shows that it does not want a decision on content in the parliamentary elections, but rather on a Federal Council.

In interviews and press releases after the debate, the parties made their position clear again. CVP President Christophe Darbellay spoke of a "potential state affair" and recalled: "Federal Councilor Elisabeth Kopp resigned because of a phone call to her husband." The SVP saw its allegation, previously expressed, confirmed that the opposing parties were pursuing a “secret plan to remove Federal Councilor Blocher”. She accused the CVP / CSP and the Left Council of using the GPK for a politically motivated intrigue against Federal Councilor Blocher and the SVP. The GPK report is tendentious and defamatory and does not take important facts into account. According to the SVP, the president of the responsible GPK sub-commission, Lucrezia Meier-Schatz , was the driving force behind the criticized approach of the GPK.

On October 5, 2007 , the SVP submitted a parliamentary initiative which called for a parliamentary commission of inquiry (PUK). The PUK should u. a. Clarify the role of the GPK and the Federal Prosecutor's Office, as well as answer legal questions about the procurement of the Holenweger papers and any personal violations by Meier-Schatz towards Blocher and Holenweger. The initiative was rejected on September 24, 2008 by all non-SVP national councilors taking part in the vote, and is thus finished.

The Federal Council rejects the allegations of the GPK

In its replies of September 28, 2007 to a series of urgent initiatives, the Federal Council clearly stood behind Christoph Blocher. He notes:

  • Blocher did not exceed his competencies when Roschacher resigned. On the same day that Roschacher voluntarily submitted his resignation, Blocher informed the Federal Council. In doing so, he had fulfilled his obligations to the college. In addition, the entire Federal Council has already stated several times that the legally regulated responsibilities had been fully complied with when the termination was given.
  • The FDJP boss never had access to the case files of the Federal Prosecutor's office and never asked for such access.
  • There is no reason to withdraw the Federal Prosecutor's office from the Justice Minister.

The Federal Council condemned the use of the word «attempted coup», which the SVP used in an interpellation. It does not belong in the vocabulary of a democratic constitutional state; such a language harms the country's political culture.

The Federal Council wanted to comment on statements and recommendations of the GPK at a later date.

Christoph Blocher rejects the allegations of the GPK

On the evening of September 5th, three hours before the presentation of the GPK report, Christoph Blocher said at a press conference called at short notice: “I don't know anything about such a plot. I'm not involved in any ». On the same morning, Federal Council spokesman Oswald Sigg confirmed that the Federal Council had discussed the Holenweger Papers.

On October 2, 2007, an article by Christoph Blocher about the supervision of law enforcement authorities was published in the NZZ . In it he emphasizes the importance of the independence of the Federal Prosecutor's Office and points out the disadvantages for the accused that could arise from ambiguities in supervision and problems of multiple subordination.

In the context of the urgent debate on October 3, 2007, Blocher took a detailed position on the GPK report and rejected the GPK's allegations.

  • September 5th, on which the GPK published its report, was "a dark day".
  • It should not happen that a Justice Minister is suspected of being involved in a "criminal matter".
  • He couldn't believe that everything that happened that day was a coincidence, said Blocher. He rejected the charge of having been involved in a plot against Roschacher, far from himself.
  • The departure of the "difficult" federal prosecutor was also in the interests of the Federal Council. Roschacher quit voluntarily, said Blocher.
  • Therefore, the termination fell within the competence of the Federal Department of Justice and Police (FDJP). The Federal Council was informed immediately and was not ignored, as claimed in the GPK report.

Blocher also refused to accept the criticism that he had given Roschacher “unauthorized instructions”. In fact, he once prohibited a media conference, but this was in the greater interest of Switzerland. If he hadn't done it, Switzerland would have suffered damage. That is part of his management responsibility.

Blocher emphasized that there were completely independent public prosecutors only in dictatorships. He never had access to procedural files and did not violate the separation of powers.

He only took on the leadership role he had learned in the private sector and made mistakes in the search for solutions.

Legal opinion on behalf of the Federal Council

By resolution of September 12, 2007, the entire Federal Council commissioned the constitutional law professor Georg Müller to assess the GPK report from a factual and legal point of view and to develop proposals for the Federal Council's opinion. In his report, Müller supported some of the key statements made by the sub-commission, specifically criticizing the fact that severance payments were made without a sufficient legal basis. But he also criticized the GPK, whose statements z. B. were based on "false foundations" and relativized the gravity of the allegations overall.

aftermath

The SVP emerged as the winner of the federal parliamentary elections at the end of October 2007, and the Greens / Green Liberals also grew strongly. The big losers were the SP and FDP. Observers assume that the focus on Christoph Blocher and the Roschacher affair contributed significantly to this result.

In the Federal Council elections on December 12, 2007, a little more than a month after the federal parliamentary elections, Christoph Blocher was surprisingly voted out of office by an alliance of the SP, Greens, large parts of the CVP / CSP and parts of the FDP, and by the Graubünden, rather unknown in the federal parliament Government councilor Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf replaced.

Lucrezia Meier-Schatz resigned from the GPK for the 2008–2011 legislative period and moved to the Commission for Economy and Taxes (WAK).

Michel-André Fels resigned on December 9, 2007 with immediate effect from his additional function as deputy federal prosecutor.

In the first cantonal parliamentary elections after the 2007 Federal Council election in the canton of St. Gallen on March 15, 2008, the SP and CVP suffered massive losses, while the SVP continued to grow, which many observers explained as an aftermath of the Blocher deselection and the Roschacher affair. Lucrezia Meier-Schatz ran as a candidate in the government council elections that were taking place at the same time, but clearly missed the absolute majority and did not participate in the second ballot.

In autumn 2007 the GPK-N filed a criminal complaint for breach of official secrecy, whereupon the extraordinary public prosecutor commissioned by the Federal Council to investigate initiated an immunity waiver against Toni Brunner in summer 2008 . He is said to have submitted confidential information to the Blocher Department during his time at the GPK. On September 4, 2008, Christoph Blocher and Christoph Mörgeli filed a criminal complaint against Lucrezia Meier-Schatz, Jean-Paul Glasson and three employees of the Federal Prosecutor's Office for breach of official secrecy, coercion and "unlawful association to impair the constitutional order". This resulted in the motion for the lifting of parliamentary immunity from Meier-Schatz and Glasson. On June 10, 2009, against the will of the National Council, the Council of States finally spoke out in favor of protecting the immunity of Brunner and, in agreement with the National Council, of protecting the immunity of Meier-Schatz and Glasson. All three national councilors are thus protected from criminal prosecution in connection with their parliamentary activities.

See also

documentary

Web links

Individual evidence

Media reports

  1. Weltwoche : "Who hinders whom?" , Article dated June 8, 2006
  2. Weltwoche : "News from the Witcher" , article from August 24, 2006
  3. Weltwoche : «He is his most delicate case» , article from June 1, 2006
  4. ^ Daniel Ammann: "No signs of money laundering". Weltwoche, September 12, 2007 (fee required).;
  5. Tages-Anzeiger : "Does Roschacher have a new problem?" , Article dated December 15, 2006
  6. a b c d e f g h i Hansjürg Zumstein : Action Secret Plan - How notes turned into plots. ( Memento from April 7, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) In: Schweizer Fernsehen from December 6, 2010 (video no longer available online)
  7. Weltwoche : "Die Trappers vom Dienst" , article from June 30, 2005
  8. Tages-Anzeiger : "The Roschacher - Blocher dispute comes to a head" , article from June 21, 2006
  9. NZZ Online : "Valentin Roschacher resigns" ( Memento from July 6, 2006 in the Internet Archive ), article from July 6, 2006, declaration of resignation and justification by Valentin Roschacher
  10. a b NZZ Online: “Meier-Schatz announces exit from GPK” , article from January 8, 2008
  11. Tages-Anzeiger : “Indications for a plot found” , article from September 5, 2007
  12. NZZ Online : “SP wants to remove Blocher's jurisdiction over federal prosecutor's office” , article from September 6, 2007
  13. a b Weltwoche : « Mastermind out of the darkroom» from 12.09.2007 (fee required)
  14. Urs Paul Engeler: "The Vengeance of the Judges". Weltwoche, November 28, 2007 (fee required).;
  15. a b c Weltwoche: "Original documents" ( Memento from January 12, 2008 in the Internet Archive ), facsimiles of the Holenweger Papers, published on September 6, 2007
  16. Tages-Anzeiger : “Plan for Roschacher's dismantling surfaced” , article from September 2, 2007
  17. Blick : "Blocher and his judge - secret meeting at Rhäzüns Castle"
  18. NZZ : “Plot plans against Federal Prosecutor Roschacher” , article from September 6, 2007
  19. Tages-Anzeiger : “Indications for a plot found” , article from September 5, 2007
  20. Blick : "Blocher under suspicion" ( Memento from May 15, 2008 in the Internet Archive ), article from September 6, 2007
  21. Tages-Anzeiger : "SVP strikes back and distributes 'secret plan'" , article from September 7, 2007
  22. NZZ Online : "The SVP is in possession of the 'plot plans'" , article dated September 7, 2007
  23. a b NZZ : “Oskar Holenweger breaks the silence” , article from September 12, 2007 with complete press release by Oskar Hollenweger from September 11, 2007
  24. Tages-Anzeiger : "The Deputy Federal Prosecutor is in distress" , article dated September 21, 2007
  25. Weltwoche : "We are now all dwarfs" ( Memento from October 19, 2007 in the Internet Archive ), article from October 4, 2007, contains facsimiles of the (actually confidential) minutes of the FDJP / BK sub-commission of the GPK-N
  26. ^ Philipp Gut: "Stubbornness in Person". Lucrezia Meier-Schatz. Weltwoche, November 14, 2007 (fee required).;
  27. NZZ am Sonntag : “Shot in the foot” , article dated December 2, 2007
  28. Tages-Anzeiger : "False information came from the Federal Prosecutor's Office" ( Memento from December 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive ), article from November 8, 2007
  29. NZZ : “The mild continuation of a hot autumn” , article from April 16, 2008
  30. Tages-Anzeiger : "The GPK has informed incorrectly" ( Memento of December 21, 2007 in the Internet Archive ), article of November 7, 2007 about the investigation into the allegations of the GPK
  31. Weltwoche : "Hour of the Hypocrites" ( Memento from October 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  32. Tages-Anzeiger: "Darbellay and Pelli criticize SVP violently" , article from September 15, 2007
  33. NZZ : “Election campaign must be” , article from September 22, 2007, assessment of the election campaign performance of the Federal Council parties
  34. NZZ Online : “Yet another Blocher-Roschacher debate” , article from September 25, 2007
  35. a b Swissinfo : “Blocher-Roschacher affair: Excited pre-election debate” , article from October 3, 2007
  36. ^ SF elections ( memento of September 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Swiss television portal
  37. Tages-Anzeiger : "What role does Meier-Schatz play in the plot affair?" , Article dated September 8, 2007
  38. NZZ Online : “Federal Council stands behind Blocher in GPK controversy” , article from September 30, 2007
  39. NZZ : "Separation of powers and the Federal Prosecutor's Office - The Federal Prosecutor's Office as part of the executive" , article by Christoph Blocher from October 2, 2007
  40. NZZ : “SVP with strict leadership to strength” , article from October 23, 2008
  41. NZZ Online : “Resignation in connection with the Holenweger Affair” , article from December 9, 2007
  42. ^ "Lucrezia Meier-Schatz has to go to a second ballot". news.ch, March 16, 2008 .;
  43. NZZ Online : “Council of States leaves national councils unscathed” , article dated June 10, 2009.

Proposals and votes in parliament

  1. a b Urgent interpellation “GPK report on the function of the federal law enforcement authorities” , submitted on September 19, 2007 by the SP parliamentary group
  2. a b c Official bulletin of the urgent debate of October 3, 2007 at the request of SVP and SP (verbatim transcripts)
  3. ^ "Urgent debate Roschacher - Blocher" ( Memento of April 4, 2008 in the Internet Archive ), speech by Ursula Wyss ( SP ) in the National Council
  4. ^ "Establishment of a PUK to clarify the allegations made by the GPK against the Minister of Justice" , parliamentary initiative, submitted on October 5, 2007 by the SVP parliamentary group
  5. Urgent interpellation «Federal Prosecutor's Office. Immediately create transparency and learn lessons » , submitted on September 19, 2007 by the FDP parliamentary group
  6. Urgent interpellation “Disregard for the separation of powers by Federal Councilor Blocher” , submitted on September 19, 2007 by the Green parliamentary group
  7. Urgent interpellation “Questions about the attempted coup against Federal Councilor Blocher” , submitted on September 19, 2007 by the SVP parliamentary group

Commission reports and expert opinions

  1. ↑ Interim supervisory report "Indictments" of the Board of Appeal of the Federal Criminal Court of July 14, 2006 (unpublished), reproduced in part in the GPK report of September 5, 2007
  2. a b c d e f g “Review of the function of the federal law enforcement authorities” , report of the National Council's Audit Committee of 5 September 2007
  3. a b Interim supervisory report "Ramos" of the Board of Appeal of the Federal Criminal Court of September 18, 2006 (unpublished), reproduced in part in the GPK report of September 5, 2007
  4. a b c d e Page no longer available , search in web archives: Video of the press conference on September 5, 2007 for the presentation of the GPK report@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.parlament.ch
  5. a b c d e “Follow-up investigation of the GPK-N to review the function of the federal law enforcement authorities” , interim report of the FDJP / BK sub-commission of the GPK-N from November 28, 2007
  6. "Statement on the report of the National Council's Audit Commission (GPK-N) of September 5, 2007 regarding the review of the function of the federal law enforcement authorities" ( Memento of March 10, 2009 in the Internet Archive ), expert opinion by Georg Müller of November 1, 2007

Other

  1. ^ "Valentin Roschacher new federal prosecutor" , press release of the FDJP of December 20, 1999
  2. Swiss Federal Prosecutor's Office ( Memento of April 16, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) on the FDJP website
  3. Main Department of the Federal Criminal Police ( Memento from August 11, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) on the FDJP website
  4. NZZ Online: "Federal Prosecutor brings charges against Holenweger" Article dated May 6, 2010.
  5. sf.tv: "Now a trial in the Holenweger case" ( Memento from May 9, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Article with video from May 6, 2010.
  6. Viviane Manz: "Acquittal for Holenweger". SRF, April 21, 2011 .;
  7. No appeal against the judgment of the Federal Criminal Court in the Holenweger case. Federal Prosecutor's Office, October 27, 2011 .;
  8. Christoph Mörgeli : “The secret plan against Blocher has been exposed”. SVP, September 11, 2007 (presentation at the SVP press conference).;
  9. ^ "The secret plan against Federal Councilor Blocher has been exposed". SVP, September 11, 2007 .;