Numerous left-wing activists were present in solidarity in the grand jury room. Right at the beginning of the trial, the defense criticized the “exaggerated investigation”. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution had determined on the basis of the “mafia paragraph”.
According to the indictment, there were attacks against members of the Identitarians on a total of three days. According to the prosecutor, some of the accused broke up an event with Identitarian boss Martin Sellner on Karlsplatz “in a conscious and intentional cooperation”. Some people were attacked with punches. According to the prosecution, a loudspeaker belonging to the Identitarians was stolen and hidden at a nearby stand of the Socialist Youth (SJ).
Criticism of the “Dimension of the Investigations”
The second incident happened at the end of May. After taking part in a rally by the Identitarians, members of the right-wing extremist movement were also attacked and injured by four people on their way to a bar. Fingerprints were recovered from a thrown glass bottle that missed its target and assigned to one of the suspects. The last alleged incident occurred at the end of August when Identitarians were attacked on the way to a “citizens’ get-together”. There were also injuries.
Right from the start, the defense criticized the dimensions of the investigations by the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Combating Terrorism in Vienna (LVT). This had used the paragraph, which is actually used against criminal organizations, as a starting point for its investigations, carried out house searches and treated the suspects like “criminals”. The only reason for this was that the accused were politically active.
“Every tent festival is wilder”
The defense also argued that there was no intention of enrichment during the actions – in contrast to criminal organizations. The members of the Identitarians only caught “a few slaps”, “every tent festival is wilder”. However, political disputes should of course be conducted differently, admitted the defense attorney, whose clients pleaded “not guilty”. The men are accused of blowing up events and – sometimes serious – bodily harm.
All of the accused refused to testify at the trial, which is why the trial was adjourned until early afternoon. Then the testimonies of the investigating LVT officials are due. A verdict is not expected on Monday, as the trial is scheduled for two days and will therefore continue on Wednesday.
Source: Nachrichten
