Overview
- Prosecutors asked for a one-year-and-eight-month suspended term, a €80,000 payment to the Victim Support Foundation, a three-year loss of voting rights, and confiscation of €26,300.
- Final pleas have been heard, a ruling is expected Thursday, and Fischer remains in pretrial detention since December 22 after missing court dates, with his complaint rejected by the Federal Court of Justice.
- The allegation centers on cash accepted over several years for pro-Azerbaijan conduct in the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly, including favorable speeches and early sharing of confidential documents.
- Evidence cited by the prosecution includes internal Azerbaijani documents listing Fischer, a message referring to “Alex,” and patterns linking PACE sessions to later cash deposits.
- The defense seeks acquittal, challenges witness credibility, labels the evidence as merely indicative, and notes some alleged payments were either not yet criminalized or are time-barred; a related case saw ex-CSU MP Eduard Lintner receive a suspended sentence now under appeal.