Image: KERSTIN SCHELLER (APA/KERSTIN SCHELLER)
The public prosecutor’s office accuses him of having had a leading role in the riots. He is said to have distributed stones to others and asked them to throw them at police officers. He too may have thrown. The Spaniard pleaded only partially guilty.
“Ms. Judge, it was really not good that I took part, that was not correct,” said the accused. The past few weeks in custody would have made him rethink. He apologized for throwing stones the size of a hen’s egg, but also “three to five firecrackers” at police officers. “I’m sorry,” he asserted.
The defense attorney said his client did not play a leading role in the riots, as stated in the indictment. He is a “classic follower”. He happened to be in the city center to the riots. Then he also received firecrackers from other participants.
The prosecutor saw it differently. During a house search after Halloween, 160 category 3 and 4 fireworks were found in the apartment. In addition, on Halloween night, he handed out stones that he had put in his trouser pockets. “Thank God no one was hurt in the riots,” she noted.
True, he collected a handful of rocks and also “shot a few,” he admitted. He put the rest in his back pocket. “That was not good of me,” said the 19-year-old before the lay judge. He denied that he had given stones to other young people in downtown Linz and encouraged them to throw them at police officers. “Ms. Richter, I didn’t tell anyone to throw stones at the police officers, and I didn’t give anyone any.” The judge wanted to know why witnesses would claim this. “I don’t know why they lie,” was his reply.
A verdict is scheduled for noon. The accused, who was sentenced to three months in prison for property crimes in August 2022, faces up to five years in prison.
Source: Nachrichten
