Trial Over Online Threats Against Doctor Lisa-Maria Kellermayr: Acquittal

He allegedly threatened her online, among other things, to bring her before a "people's tribunal" for her statements about Corona and to "put her on the dock and then certainly in prison."

The judge explained that there is a special situation in this trial: Since the accused lives in Germany and wrote the messages there, the Austrian judiciary is only competent if it is a dangerous threat with a suicide outcome. For the offense of "ordinary" dangerous threat from Germany, the German authorities would be responsible. Because the Wels public prosecutor's office, based on a psychiatric report, assumed that these threats were a contributing factor to the suicide, the man could be charged in Austria. However, a proceeding against him in Germany has been temporarily suspended by the Munich General Prosecutor's Office, referring to the one in Wels.

Accused Did Not Have to Know About Kellermayr's Condition

According to the court, the accused did not have to know with the certainty required for a criminal conviction at the time he wrote his messages that Kellermayr was also being massively threatened by others or recognize that she was at risk of suicide, according to the reasoning. Nor was it convinced that the accused's messages were a contributing factor to the suicide, said the presiding judge of the jury.

Accused Only Saw "Mutual Argument"

The 61-year-old is said to have announced from February to July 2022 in emails and Twitter messages (now X, note) that he would bring the doctor before a yet-to-be-established "people's tribunal" and "put her on the dock and then certainly in prison." He did not deny this, but only saw a mutual argument, as Kellermayr repeatedly responded. In his closing statement, the accused, who had previously left the floor entirely to his lawyers for three and a half days of the trial, said that the Corona period had been very stressful for him. "I was trapped in my fear. I had to compensate for my helplessness through activism." He sincerely regretted Kellermayr's suicide but did not see his messages as the reason for it. Therefore, he had also pleaded not guilty.

The investigation of the accused was not a major problem, as the entrepreneur wrote the messages under his company account. However, in the court in Wels, he was very concerned about his anonymity - always wearing a cap and dark glasses outside the courtroom, meticulously ensuring the protection of his personal rights against photographers.

Many Witnesses, Many Storylines

During the four days of the trial, numerous witnesses were heard. The defense attempted to paint a picture that Kellermayr was burdened by a whole bundle of problems, which were also extensively illuminated - health, psychological, financial, and indeed due to the threat situation, where there are two strands: A still unknown perpetrator, who appeared under the name "Claas," indulged in fantasies of torture and killing, while the accused threatened with the "people's tribunal."

The witnesses unanimously reported that Kellermayr was extremely afraid, but she was not persuaded to avoid social media and instead invested large sums in security measures. The threats from "Claas" were said to have burdened the doctor the most, according to the consensus. But the messages from the accused also did not leave her unaffected.

A confidante of the doctor described that she feared a "lynch mob," also because the 61-year-old used the formulation "We are watching you," in the plural. Additionally, Kellermayr knew his identity, was aware of several previous convictions, and - as a voice message played in court to her friend showed - that he lived only two hours away by car. The psychiatric expert, on whose report the prosecution relies, saw the accused's "people's tribunal" threats as a contributing factor and at least as a "piece of the puzzle" for Kellermayr's decision to commit suicide. The court did not see this as proven and acquitted the man. The prosecution made no statement, so the verdict is not legally binding.

Are you in a desperate life situation and need help? Talk to other people about it. Support services for people with suicidal thoughts and their relatives are offered by the suicide prevention portal of the Ministry of Health. At www.suizid-praevention.gv.at, you can find contact details of support facilities in Austria.

(APA/Red)

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