Dispute Over Media in Matura Ends in Vienna Court: Acquittal Due to Doubt

"I tell you, if you don't allow it, then the school will burn," she is said to have declared on January 16, 2025. She was acquitted due to lack of evidence.

The accused assured that the incriminated statement was not made: "I am innocent." She had already received approval from the education directorate for the press to be present at her English exam. Her legal representative proved this by presenting the corresponding document to the judge. "I didn't say anything like that. I knew I was in the right. I had the approval of the education directorate. I would have had no reason to coerce anyone," stated the young woman, who is employed part-time at a supermarket chain and still aims to graduate, as she emphasized.

The accused claimed that she had been discriminated against "all the time" at the commercial school where she wanted to take the external graduation exam due to her Turkish roots. Therefore, she insisted on the presence of the press and audio-visual recordings during her exam: "I wanted everything that happened there to be documented." She hoped for "attention" from the media so that she would not be treated unfairly.

School Principal: "She was repeatedly very conspicuous"

The school principal rejected the accused's account and confirmed as a witness that the threat was made. "She was repeatedly very conspicuous," reported the principal. The 23-year-old had insulted classmates and teachers and complained about incorrect corrections of her schoolwork. She generally felt "unfairly treated," the principal outlined a tense relationship with the young woman.

The secretary working at the affected educational institution confirmed this, who also confirmed the defendant's statement: "I have been in service for 40 years. I have never experienced anything like this." The director had prohibited the 23-year-old from making film and sound recordings during her English exam, after which "the sentence came out very calmly, very quickly," the witness explained. She took the statement "very seriously": "It was a full threat. In the sense of 'Otherwise I'll set the school on fire'."

Trial in Vienna: Acquittal in Doubt Not Final

"There is absolutely no doubt for me that you said that," the judge stated at the end of the hearing. Nevertheless, the previously unblemished defendant was acquitted. The incriminated statement was a verbal "spontaneous outburst," and it could not be "determined with certainty that you wanted to burn down the school," the judge found. He referred to the "Uni brennt" protest movement at the time, which was also not about "setting the university on fire."

The defendant reacted to the acquittal with tears of relief. However, the decision is not final, as the prosecutor did not provide a statement for the time being.

Where the 23-year-old will continue her efforts to obtain a high school diploma remains open. At the school in question, this is hard to imagine. She has since been banned from the premises there.

(APA/Red)

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