Attempted Murder 16 Years Ago in Vienna: Suspect Released

A request by the Vienna public prosecutor's office for pre-trial detention was not granted, and the 51-year-old was released by the Regional Court for Criminal Matters under milder conditions. Court spokeswoman Christina Salzborn announced this on Monday afternoon in response to an APA inquiry.

The man pledged not to leave the country for the time being and to cooperate with the authorities. According to Salzborn, he also promised to report any changes of address within Austria.

Release Order Not Final

The release order is not final. The public prosecutor's office has the option to appeal against it. The deadline for this is 14 days.

The man was wanted in connection with a shooting that occurred on July 31, 2009, in Staudiglgasse in Favoriten, under an EU-wide arrest warrant. At that time, a physical altercation, which later escalated into an armed confrontation, occurred between five men - presumably all Georgians. When a then 38-year-old pulled out a knife and threatened an opponent, he was shot. A bullet pierced his hip, and the man was critically injured.

An emergency operation saved his life. After he was out of danger, the 38-year-old stated in his police interrogation that he had accidentally gotten involved in the altercation and did not know the other participants.

51-Year-Old Was at the Crime Scene in Vienna, but Probably Not the Shooter

The 51-year-old man arrested last week was randomly stopped in a traffic check in Upper Austria. It turned out that the Georgian was illegally residing in Austria and had been wanted for some time because he had left DNA traces at the crime scene of the shooting in Vienna-Favoriten. After his arrest, the Georgian told the magistrate that he was indeed at the crime scene but did not shoot. He claimed he only provided the ammunition to the shooter, whom he did not know by name.

This could not be refuted initially. The secured DNA traces could also be explained with this account. The statement of the 51-year-old aligns with the investigation results at the time, as an uninvolved witness had described the shooter as a corpulent man with longer hair. The 51-year-old demonstrably looked different at that time.

Prosecutor's Office Continues Investigation

Nevertheless, the man is still being investigated for involvement in attempted murder, emphasized Judith Ziska, the spokesperson for the Vienna Prosecutor's Office. The 51-year-old is to be questioned once more about the incidents at the time, and the investigation file will also be reviewed for possible new investigative approaches.

The situation is complicated because the victim who was shot at the time is no longer in Austria. His current whereabouts are unknown. "The man is currently untraceable," Ziska said in an interview with APA.

(APA/Red)

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