Judges attack Austrian politicians

Joerg Haider is under investigation

VIENNA, Austria (Reuters) -- Austrian politicians have been warned against interfering in the legal process by leading members of the country's judiciary.

About two-thirds of the country's judges and prosecutors signed an open letter urging politicians to respect the rule of law and not to try to use the justice system for political ends.

Austrian media is reporting the letter as an attack on the Freedom Party -- a far-right party in the governing coalition -- and its former leader Joerg Haider.

Haider and several leading party members in Vienna and Lower Austria are under investigation for allegedly bribing police to give them confidential information on political opponents.

The letter did not mention the Freedom Party or any of its officials by name but it appeared to be aimed at party politicians who have attacked prosecutors investigating the bribery allegations.

"(Our) independence and the separation of powers are in danger if blatant political pressure is applied to influence current investigations," the letter said.

Haider, who remains a key party figure despite formally relinquishing the leadership in May, strenuously denies the bribery allegations.

Vice-Chancellor Susanne Riess-Passer, who replaced Haider as party leader, has called for the investigations to be halted.

Justice Minister Dieter Boehmdorfer, who was Haider's personal lawyer until his appointment, has come under fire for stating that Haider was "above all suspicion" fuelling charges by opposition politicians that he was pre-judging the outcome of an independent investigation.

The letter, addressed to President Thomas Klestil, members of Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel's centre-right coalition and other leading politicians, said: "We, around 1,300 judges and public prosecutors, are concerned by recent public statements by leading politicians.

"They give the impression that commitment to the independence of the judiciary is often mere lip service.

"Justice does not serve personal interests but the implementation of the law without regard to the person."

Austria's EU partners imposed political sanctions against the country when the new government took office in February because they consider the Freedom Party to be racist and xenophobic.

The sanctions were lifted after an EU report gave Austria a clean bill of health for its human rights record and treatment of minorities.

But the report criticised the Freedom Party as a "right-wing party with extremist expressions" and said the party tried to suppress criticism by suing its opponents for libel.

Boehmdorfer was the only minister singled out for criticism by the report which said: "Some actions of the minister of justice have caused concern."

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Freedom Party
Republic of Austria

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