Image: APA/HELMUT FOHRINGER
The Supreme Court partially overturned the judgments due to deficiencies in findings. The court now only has to clarify whether there was a terrorist organization. The guilty verdicts for murder are already final.
- Also read: The Vienna attacker’s accomplice back in court
All three men were found guilty in February last year of supporting the later attacker in the run-up to the crime. For this they handed out 19 and 20 years or a life sentence.
There will be no change to the guilty verdicts for aiding and abetting murder, but the convictions for membership in a terrorist group or criminal organization were overturned by the Supreme Court. The reason for the rehearing ordered by the Supreme Court were criticized errors in the legal instructions given to the jury and a lack of specific wording in the verdict. This could change the level of punishment.
“Murderer by Contribution”
In her opening statement to the jury, the prosecutor emphasized several times that today it is no longer about aiding and abetting murder. The verdict of guilt is “the one who pecks”. The three defendants are “murderers by contribution.” The task of the lay judges is to decide whether the three defendants were also members of the terrorist group or criminal organization “Islamic State”. Both can be answered clearly with “yes”.
Members of IS are not only those who travel to the war zone themselves or carry out attacks in the name of the terrorist organization, but also those who “support the cause” – for example by sending propaganda videos and radical Islamist “Nasheeds”. The reason for the partial reversal of the verdict is that the definition of IS was not included in the questions to the jury in the first instance verdict and was therefore not sufficiently explained.
The trial was postponed
Negotiations should actually have taken place on Tuesday. However, a defendant’s procedural assistant did not appear at first, then it turned out that he had no prior contact with his client. He only took over the defense at the end of February, after the election defense attorney had resigned from the mandate shortly before. The hearing was therefore postponed to Thursday in order to prepare for the trial. The next day for the trial is April 24th, but a verdict is also possible today.
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Source: Nachrichten
