The defendant stands accused of having lied to foreign police officers. Between August 2013 and March 2014, foreign police officers requested a DNA comparison with DNA kept in Luxembourg's data bank. The police officer in question responded that the DNA match was negative, despite the result being positive.
The police officer lied with DNA matches eight times with countries that are signatories of the Prüm Convention, which promotes the exchange of data regarding DNA, fingerprints, and vehicle registration of concerned persons in the spirit of cooperating against crime.
As for requests from non-signatories of the Prüm Convention, it appears that there were 23 cases in which the police officer obstructed justice.
The investigator speaking on behalf of the Police's General Inspectorate explained that a secretary noticed discrepancies in January 2014, but the defendant was only questioned in March.
According to the investigator, the defendant had not wanted to do the necessary work and was frustrated as he had not been assigned to different roles. As a consequence, he either did no or minimal work.
The judge questioned the then-chief of the technical police force on why he had not reprimanded the defendant. The then-chief had presumed that the actions were not that serious and did not think it would lead to a large-scale trial.
The defendant had told his boss that he was not happy with the work he was given, claiming it was "beneath him" and "secretarial work."
The defendant himself denied nothing and explained that his intention had not been to falsify any reports. He explained he had been forced to work in that department, but expressed his regret at his actions. The defendant claimed that he would not repeat his actions if he were in the same situation, but highlighted that he did not feel comfortable in that position.
The defendant's lawyer called for the acquittal of his client, claiming there was no evidence of his client obstructing justice or falsifying documents.
The verdict will be pronounced on 21 February.
