Verdict on Azerbaijan affair: probation for German politician
In the corruption trial in Germany surrounding the so-called Azerbaijan affair, former member of parliament Eduard Lintner has been sentenced to a suspended sentence of nine months.
30.07.2025, 10:25
SDA
The Munich Higher Regional Court followed the argumentation of the public prosecutor's office that the now 80-year-old Christian Democrat was guilty of bribing elected officials. The defense had pleaded in vain for acquittal.
According to the indictment, Azerbaijan allegedly tried for years - and successfully - to influence decisions in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in its favor with the help of cash payments. This was partly with the help of Lintner, who sat in the Bundestag for the Bavarian CSU for 33 years, was Parliamentary State Secretary at times and a PACE member until 2010.
In the end, Lintner admitted to forwarding Azerbaijani payments to a now deceased member of the Bundestag from the Christian Democratic CDU. This was intended to influence decisions in Azerbaijan's favor after Lintner himself was no longer a member of the Council of Europe.
In fact, the first - disguised - payments from Azerbaijan to the CDU politician also flowed through one of Lintner's companies. He himself defended himself in court by saying: "I thought the whole thing was the kind of lobbying that is still practically omnipresent today." At the very end of the trial, he reiterated that he was not aware of any criminal offense.
Proceedings against another former MP severed
In addition to Lintner, ex-CDU member of the Bundestag Axel Fischer and two other defendants were also initially charged in the trial. Fischer, who is accused of bribery, denied the allegations - as did Lintner initially.
Following Fischer's illness and a lengthy interruption, the proceedings against him were severed - they will have to start all over again later. The proceedings against the two other co-defendants were provisionally suspended against payment of fines.
