Austrian prosecutors ask parliament to lift far-right leader's immunity

FILE PHOTO: Head of Freedom Party (FPOe) Herbert Kickl waits for the start of the constitutional session of the Parliament in Vienna, Austria, October 24, 2024. REUTERS/Lisa Leutner/File Photo

VIENNA (Reuters) - Austrian prosecutors have asked parliament to lift far-right leader Herbert Kickl's immunity over an allegation that he committed perjury testifying to a parliamentary committee, the office of the lower house's speaker confirmed on Thursday.

News magazine Profil reported earlier on Thursday that the Central Prosecutors' Office for Economic Crimes and Corruption (WKStA) had sent the request to the office of speaker Walter Rosenkranz, who is from Kickl's Freedom Party.