Personal affairs - Investigations into unfaithfulness against Thuringian Landesregierung have been discontinued
The Public Prosecutor's Office in Erfurt has discontinued an embezzlement proceeding against the Thuringian State Government. In the course of the investigation, they could not find "serious breaches of duty" by the cabinet, according to the 19-page order obtained by stern.
Minister-President Bodo Ramelow (Left) reacted relieved. "I'm glad that it has been confirmed that there were no criminal offenses," he told stern. "That takes a heavy weight off my shoulders."
At the beginning of 2023, the State Audit Office sharply criticized the appointment of secretaries of state and high officials by the State Government. The appointments were deemed "defective," "unlawful," and "incomprehensible," according to two audit reports. Behördenpräsidentin Kirsten Butzke spoke of "systematic and serious" violations. The principle of the best selection was not observed.
Anonymous Complaints from AfD and FDP
The Public Prosecutor's Office then initiated investigations against Unknown Persons. In addition, AfD and FDP filed complaints, some of which were also directed personally against Minister-President Bodo Ramelow (Left).
One and a half years later, the investigating authority has now discontinued the proceeding against the secretaries of state in accordance with Paragraph 170, Section 2 of the Criminal Procedure Code. This means that they see no "sufficient reason" for an indictment.
The Public Prosecutor's Office also holds some personnel decisions questionable. However, as stated in the order: "Not every identified non-criminal violation leads 'automatically' to the assumption of a breach of trust and thus a criminal offense."
Bodo Ramelow admits errors of his government
Ramelow admitted errors of the State Government. "The Audit Office has exposed weaknesses in its reports, for example, in the documentation of personnel decisions," he said. "But we have repaired that." In principle, he and the State Government continued to stand by their personnel decisions.
In the case of the particularly controversial appointment of a State Secretary, the investigating prosecutor writes that it could "stand the test," whether the decision of the State Government would have withstood a review by an administrative court. Nevertheless, the appointment was not "so obviously misguided" that it should be evaluated as "grossly unlawful."
Independently of the current decision of the Public Prosecutor's Office, a second proceeding, which deals with the appointment of high officials, is running unchanged. A spokesperson for the Erfurt investigating authority confirmed this to stern on request.
The political debate should continue anyway. The Thuringian Parliament had set up an investigative committee on the so-called Postenaffäre in 2023 on the initiative of the opposition CDU. A few weeks ago, there was heated debate in the parliament about the interim report of the committee. The final report is expected to be presented before the Landtag election on September 1, 2024.
The discontinuation of the embezzlement investigation by the Public Prosecutor's Office in Thuringia has been welcomed by State Government President Bodo Ramelow, as it cleared him and his cabinet of any criminal wrongdoing. Despite the Public Prosecutor's Office raising concerns about certain personnel decisions made by the State Government, they acknowledged that not all non-criminal violations automatically lead to assumptions of breach of trust or criminal offenses.
