The Court has declared inadmissible the application in the case of Hessenthaler v. Austria.

The case concerned the conviction of the applicant for drug trafficking and for the possession and use of forged official documents. He alleged that his criminal prosecution had been politically motivated as he had been one of the key figures who had triggered the “Ibiza affair” which had led to the collapse of the Austrian governing coalition in May 2019 and the calling of an early election.

The Court found that there was no indication that the criminal proceedings against the applicant had been unfair or arbitrary, nor initiated in reaction to his involvement in the Ibiza affair. His complaints were clearly ill‑founded.

• Press release