Knife Attack at Vienna's Reumannplatz: Charges Against Father Withdrawn
The man is charged with attempted double murder. His father, who was originally co-accused, no longer has to face a jury in the second trial. The prosecution has withdrawn the charges against the 46-year-old.
The prosecution justifies this step by stating that, according to §190 number 2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, there is no actual reason for further prosecution of the accused, as Florian Kreiner, the 46-year-old's defense attorney, informed the APA. "The decision of the prosecution is to be seen as a logical consequence of the evidence results from the first trial. The father should have been acquitted correctly. And the son should have been convicted of intentional serious bodily harm according to the jury's verdict," Kreiner said on Thursday. He is "confident that the jury in the second trial will come to the same conclusion regarding the son."
Jury Verdict in the First Trial Suspended
At the end of the first trial, the eight jurors rejected the charges after hours of deliberation on the question of guilt in early October. They found the main defendant guilty of two counts of intentional bodily harm. They granted the 46-year-old father justified self-defense in a coercive situation. However, the three professional judges - two men and one woman - did not accept this decision. They suspended the verdict due to a jury error.
This would mean that the trial against the two would have to be conducted anew before a newly composed jury. However, the father, who was released from custody after the first main trial due to a lack of urgent suspicion - his son remains in pre-trial detention - is no longer summoned as a defendant. He has received a witness summons, "which he will of course comply with to give his testimony under oath," as his defense attorney confirmed.
Stabbed Victim Resuscitated on Operating Table
The 22-year-old admitted to having stabbed in the first trial. "I didn't want anyone to die," he denied the intent to kill. His father denied having done anything criminal.
The stabbed victims survived, although the blade severed the younger one's internal thoracic artery and damaged the lung. The critically injured person suffered a circulatory collapse on the operating table after being transferred to a hospital and had no pulse. He was able to be resuscitated thanks to the quick reaction of a surgeon. The 22-year-old inflicted a ten-centimeter deep stab wound on the second Syrian in the right anterior chest wall. The young Chechen's co-accused father was originally accused of having brandished a knife to keep witnesses of the crime at bay and prevent them from helping the first stabbed person.
The 22-year-old was initially allegedly approached about drugs by one of the two Syrians on the afternoon of March 1 at Reumannplatz. This provoked and made him aggressive, as he claimed later, because he hated drugs. It led to altercations, during which the Chechen came off worse, as his opponent sprayed him with pepper spray and headbutted him. Then the Syrian ran away.
The young Chechen went home, where he consulted with his father. In the evening, both went to Reumannplatz. When the younger one saw one of the two Syrians again, a brawl ensued. Because the Syrians allegedly received support from other men and were superior to him, he drew his knife.
Weapons Ban at Vienna's Reumannplatz Remains in Effect
Following a series of stabbings in the area around Reumannplatz and Keplerplatz, a weapons ban was enacted for this area last spring. This was recently extended.
(APA/Red)
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