Compatriot killed

Life sentence for stabbing with “maximum force”

Ahmed H. (27) in front of the senate of judges at Salzburg Provincial Court(Bild: Markus Tschepp)

Ahmed A. (27) stabbed a fellow countryman with "maximum force". Five times. Each stab would have been fatal. And he wanted to stab a second Somali, but he escaped. At the jury trial in Salzburg, he says only one thing: "I am guilty. I'm sorry."

The regional court on Wednesday, 9.30 am. Two prison guards lead the defendant in handcuffs to the chair in the middle of the jury courtroom. First, presiding judge Markus Hanl asks Ahmed A. (27) about his personal details: homeless, unemployed, without income and a criminal. A. already has six relevant previous convictions and has been in prison three times - he only left his cell on January 5. And on the night of February 1st, he stabbed a fellow countryman, who has a family and several children, five times with a knife in Salzburg-Lehen.