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Germany’s ‘nastiest priest’ avoids jail

A Catholic priest in the southwestern German city of Freiburg was sentenced to a 20-month suspended sentence on Friday for numerous crimes, including fraud and bodily harm.

Published: 17 October 2008 15:38 CEST

Germany’s 'nastiest priest' avoids jail

Photo: DPA

The 39-year-old had been charged with 101 crimes including blackmail, fraud, breach of trust, coercion and assault, but was found guilty on just 11 counts of fraud and 5 counts of assault after coming to an agreement with the court.

Labelled “Germany’s nastiest priest” by the daily paper Express, was found guilty of giving false information to obtain two loans of €120,000 ($175,000) from the diocese of Freiburg in southern Germany as well as an additional €17,000 from a local parish and other private sources in the same area. He apparently used the money to finance a lavish lifestyle , buying vehicles, furniture, clothing and frequent meals at restaurants.

The four bodily harm charges came from incidents with his live-in female companion, a woman 11 years his senior who he met through his priestly duties in 2003. The court found him guilty of abusing her in attempt to get her to sell her home and give him the money.

Total damages from his crimes rang in at €220,000, accumulated between 2003 and 2006, the court said.

Germany raids properties in bribery probe aimed at AfD politician

The investigation targets Petr Bystron, the number-two candidate for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in next month’s European Parliament elections, Der Spiegel news outlet reported.

Police, and prosecutors in Munich, confirmed on Thursday they were conducting “a preliminary investigation against a member of the German Bundestag on the initial suspicion of bribery of elected officials and money laundering”, without giving a name.

Properties in Berlin, the southern state of Bavaria and the Spanish island of Mallorca were searched and evidence seized, they said in a statement.

About 70 police officers and 11 prosecutors were involved in the searches.

Last month, Bystron denied media reports that he was paid to spread pro-Russian views on a Moscow-financed news website, just one of several scandals that the extreme-right anti-immigration AfD is battling.

READ ALSO: How spying scandal has rocked troubled German far-right party

Bystron’s offices in the German parliament, the Bundestag, were searched after lawmakers voted to waive the immunity usually granted to MPs, his party said.

The allegations against Bystron surfaced in March when the Czech government revealed it had bust a Moscow-financed network that was using the Prague-based Voice of Europe news site to spread Russian propaganda across Europe.

Did AfD politicians receive Russian money?

Czech daily Denik N said some European politicians cooperating with the news site were paid from Russian funds, in some cases to fund their European Parliament election campaigns.

It singled out the AfD as being involved.

Denik N and Der Spiegel named Bystron and Maximilian Krah, the AfD’s top candidate for the European elections, as suspects in the case.

After the allegations emerged, Bystron said that he had “not accepted any money to advocate pro-Russian positions”.

Krah has denied receiving money for being interviewed by the site.

On Wednesday, the European Union agreed to impose a broadcast ban on the Voice of Europe, diplomats said.

The AfD’s popularity surged last year, when it capitalised on discontent in Germany at rising immigration and a weak economy, but it has dropped back in the face of recent scandals.

As well as the Russian propaganda allegations, the party has faced a Chinese spying controversy and accusations that it discussed the idea of mass deportations with extremists, prompting a wave of protests across Germany.

READ ALSO: Germany, Czech Republic accuse Russia of cyberattacks

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