“I don’t believe a word the six accused said”

At the Vienna Regional Court on Tuesday, the prosecutor and the defense attorneys held their closing speeches in the terror trial against six suspected supporters of the assassin. “I don’t believe a word the six accused said”, said the prosecutor. While the defense attorneys advocated acquittals of the incriminated allegations, the prosecutor demanded the maximum sentences.

The prosecutor was convinced that the evidence for all charges had been produced in 14 days of the hearing. All of the 28 key questions that the jury would have to answer at the end of their deliberations were to be answered in the affirmative. All six of the accused supported the assassin who was shot by the police. “Such insidious attacks on our values ​​and democracy are rightly punished with the maximum penalty”she held tight.

“Thin evidence”

The defense attorneys, however, demanded acquittals for their clients. David Jodlbauer, the defense attorney for the first accused, who is primarily accused of having gone to Slovakia with the assassin to buy ammunition, stressed that his client was “not an extremist”. He didn’t know that there would be an attack, and he didn’t support the assassin either. The evidence is “slim”.

“Assisting in an assassination is untenable”said defender Manfred Arbacher-Stöger for the second accused.

Defense attorney Rudolf Mayer, who represents the third accused, admitted that he was well acquainted with the assassin and was a friend: “But the friendship did not go so far that he helped him.” However, Mayer admitted that his client had propaganda material from the radical Islamist terrorist militia “Islamic State” (IS) owned and distributed.

The prosecutor thanked the jury for her in her statement “courageous and interested demeanor” pronounced. In fact, during the course of the trial, the jury kept asking fussy questions to the accused, but also to the witnesses.

The fifth defendant confessed at least in part to the procurement of the assault rifle. However, he is also accused of having primed the weapon in the assassin’s apartment the day before the attack. According to the prosecutor, his DNA on the ammunition and the telephone data, which according to her prove that he was at least in the vicinity of the apartment, speak for this. “But even if you deny that meeting with the assassin and conclude that he himself is not radicalized, he still contributed to four murders through procurement”the prosecutor addressed the lay judges again.

The jury will begin their deliberations this morning. Before that, the six defendants have their say. It is unclear how long the consultations will last, but in any case several hours can be expected. Then, in the event of a guilty verdict, the jury must work with the three professional judges to determine the sentence for each defendant. The pronouncement of the verdict is therefore not expected until the afternoon at the earliest.