Process Regarding Abused Inmate in Vienna Postponed
The case of a prisoner who was abused and permanently disfigured in a cell at the Josefstadt prison (JA) was heard at the Vienna Regional Court on Friday afternoon. The 26-year-old, who was housed in a four-person cell, is said to have been beaten and humiliated by the three fellow inmates on the night of October 23, 2023, by having a penis tattooed on his right shoulder with a soot-blackened nail.
After he was allegedly beaten, suffering a hematoma on his left eye, the fellow inmates allegedly sat the 26-year-old on a chair. While two held him down, the third shaved his head. Then the tattoo was inflicted, which the prosecution described in the criminal complaint as a "conspicuous disfigurement."
Charged with Bodily Harm with Serious Lasting Consequences
One of the three - a 49-year-old with five previous convictions - now had to answer to a jury for bodily harm with serious lasting consequences. The other two men - including the tattooist and thus the main perpetrator - have since left the country. Both are Hungarians, and they are being sought. The 49-year-old only admitted to having hit the 26-year-old in the face because the other two had incited him against him. The 26-year-old eventually attacked him, so he struck him.
He was not involved in the particularly humiliating abuse of the victim, the defendant assured: "I was lying in bed watching TV." The 26-year-old wanted to have his hair shaved, "because it was already long." Subsequently, he was "shocked himself at what was going on," but did not help the younger man, "because I didn't want to get into trouble." When he noticed the penis on the young man's shoulder and his tears, "it upset me. But what could I have done?"
Defendant in Vienna Described Allegations as "Conspiracy"
The other two men were "very evil, bad people" and had also beaten him, claimed the 49-year-old. He described the allegations against him as a "conspiracy."
The trial had to be postponed to mid-May. Before the 26-year-old could be questioned, it turned out that the Hungarian did not have sufficient German language skills to be questioned without an interpreter.
(APA/Red)
This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.