Wild threat

“I will kill the social terrorists in Dornbirn”

(Bild: Chantal Dorn, Krone KREATIV)

Frustrated Chechen wrote a threatening email to the presidential chancellery in Vienna. On Monday, he had to answer for his threats at the regional court in Feldkirch.

The 53-year-old Chechen, who lives in Vorarlberg, has been trying for years to bring his wife to Austria in the course of family reunification. However, his efforts have not been crowned with success to date, as the wheels of bureaucracy grind slowly. This takes its toll on the Chechen, who works as a security guard, which is why he occasionally washes his sorrows away with alcohol.

Last December, the man was so frustrated that he sat down at his computer in a drunken stupor and wrote an email to the President's Office in Vienna with the text: "When I've killed the social terrorists in Dornbirn, I'll come to you!" Although the 53-year-old apologized a few hours later, the authorities pressed charges.

Drunk and depressed
At the trial, the accused apologized again. "I was drunk and depressed," he explains his behavior. Prosecutor Markus Fußenegger takes this as an opportunity to turn the Chechen's calves to the front: "You're not going to bring your wife here by writing threatening emails to employees of the authorities. They're just doing their job."

Nevertheless, he praises the apologies. Because the Chechen has no criminal record, Judge Alexander Wehinger refrains from imposing a prison sentence and sentences him to a partial fine of 1,800 euros. He has to pay a further 250 euros in legal costs.