President of the Vienna Regional Court: "Red Lines Crossed"

For Friedrich Forsthuber, the president of the regional court, "red lines were crossed in several respects".

"Very Disturbing"

"As the president of the regional court for criminal matters, I strongly reject the emotional attacks against the chairwoman of the jury court and the independent judiciary that have taken place in recent days, especially on social media," Forsthuber said in an interview with APA on Wednesday. The attacks have far exceeded the limits of permissible criticism of the judiciary, "which is very disturbing. This creates pressure that puts the judiciary and independent justice in danger," Forsthuber expressed his concern.

Acquittal in Vienna

A jury senate had on January 7th in a trial about a twelve-year-old girl allegedly abused in Vienna-Favoriten in early 2023, acquitted a 17-year-old of the charge of rape on the grounds of doubt. After a two-day trial, which was largely held in private for victim protection reasons, the court concluded that the now 13-year-old girl probably had "an inner rejection" of the incriminated act, as stated in the oral justification of the court decision. However, it was "not proven that this was recognizable to the defendant." It was also "not ascertainable" whether violence had been used. "It often happens that you first say no and then let yourself be persuaded by tenderness," the presiding judge noted in a detailed explanation of why the 17-year-old was acquitted of rape. Since it had already been shown in the public prosecutor's investigation that the 17-year-old did not know the girl's age and the student had indicated that she was over 14, serious sexual abuse of minors (§ 207 StGB) was also not considered.

Musk Tweet Shared Widely

There was sharp criticism, particularly of the justification for the acquittal, which was abbreviated and partially misrepresented in some media and on social networks. Even Elon Musk commented on the acquittal on X as "crazy", with his tweet being shared over 25,000 times. The judge was personally attacked and threatened in the comment columns of some online media, making her a target of "online hate".

"The representation of the reasons that led the court to the specific acquittal, which was spread in various media, was misrepresented and incompletely reproduced," emphasized court president Forsthuber. The decision was also based on circumstances that were discussed in the non-public part of the trial: "Since the evidence procedure had to take place entirely in the absence of the public to protect the victim from interference with personal rights, these details cannot and will not be disclosed retrospectively."

The court can only pronounce a guilty verdict "if the accused facts are proven with near certainty by the available evidence. In all other cases, an acquittal must occur," Forsthuber stated. Whether a crime - in the present case the originally incriminated rape - is proven, is decided in the grand jury trial by two professional judges or two lay judges from the people, "who jointly carry out the evaluation of evidence". In this process, "all circumstances and actions of all parties before, during and after the alleged crime are taken into account."

In the present case, a single sentence taken from the judge's justification for the acquittal caused some media professionals to falsely accuse her of stating that a multiple no from a victim of a sexual crime was generally not sufficient for a conviction. However, the judge did not intend to participate in the "A no must remain a no" debate in the justification, which was open to the public. The case of the then twelve-year-old, in which the Vienna public prosecutor's office is still investigating numerous other juvenile suspects on suspicion of sexual abuse, is not suitable or only conditionally suitable as a contribution to this debate due to the circumstances and backgrounds that are not publicly accessible due to the investigation process.

"Responsibility as a Society"

"When individuals or groups provoke misinterpretations in social media out of personal or even political motives by using quotes taken out of the overall context of the verdict announcement and even personally attack the presiding judge, they not only endanger her. Then the foundations of our democratic constitutional state are also endangered," fears Forsthuber. A free and independent judiciary is its foundation: "Protecting this is our responsibility as a society." Only in a climate "characterized by trust and respect for democratic institutions can judges do their work for the benefit of our society," reaffirmed the president of the Vienna Regional Court.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.