Former Foreign Ministry Secretary-General Peterlik Acquitted

Ambassador Johannes Peterlik, former Secretary-General of the Foreign Ministry, has been definitively cleared of charges related to abuse of office and breaching secrecy obligations. The Vienna Regional Court for Criminal Matters ruled that Peterlik did not commit the offenses he was accused of.

Specifically, the court determined that Peterlik did not share a report from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) with Egisto Ott. This finding led to his acquittal on charges of abuse of office and violating his duty of confidentiality.

Peterlik had been suspended in September 2021 following serious allegations. The Vienna Public Prosecutor's Office had accused him of passing a classified OPCW report to Ott, constituting abuse of power and a violation of secrecy laws. The court's decision, first made on April 22, 2026, has now been finalized, confirming Peterlik's innocence.