Austrian politician Hafenecker must retract 'money bag' claim against Meinl-Reisinger

Austrian FPÖ Secretary-General Christian Hafenecker has been ordered to publicly retract his accusations that Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger traveled to Ukraine with "money bags" to deliver cash, according to a report by APA.

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The FPÖ Secretary-General must publicly retract his statement in a press conference and via a press release and also bear the entire costs of the proceedings.

Hafenecker's claims, which suggested Meinl-Reisinger was handing over tax money in Ukraine, were initially made in February, on the anniversary of Russia's invasion. The allegations were spread across various platforms by the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ).

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The allegation was spread by the Freedom Party on various channels. In a press conference on February 24, the anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Hafenecker repeated the false accusations.

Meinl-Reisinger, representing the Neos party, pursued legal action for defamation. Following a preliminary injunction, Hafenecker must now issue a public retraction in a press conference and via a press release. He is also responsible for covering all legal proceedings costs. The court's decision is not yet legally binding.

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Meinl-Reisinger decided to take legal action against it and filed a lawsuit for defamation.

The civil case against Hafenecker took place on May 21 at the St. Pölten Regional Court. A separate civil case against the FPÖ party itself is still pending and scheduled for a hearing in the autumn at the Commercial Court of Vienna. However, the dissemination of the defamatory claims has already been prohibited by a preliminary injunction.

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According to a preliminary injunction, Hafenecker must publicly retract the untrue allegations.