Trial in Vorarlberg

Bitcoins for Hamas: ten months conditional imprisonment

On Wednesday, a 22-year-old had to answer for his actions at the Feldkirch Regional Court in Vorarlberg: the young man was accused of supporting the terrorist organization Hamas. 

"I didn't know at the time that it was a terrorist organization," the Austrian with Turkish roots claimed in court in Feldkirch. In the summer of 2021, he read an article about the Gaza conflict in a Turkish newspaper, started researching and found a donation page - where he transferred around 300 euros.

He then shared the link in a group chat and wrote: "I've already helped with crypto. Will you help too?"

"You have a high school diploma"
"I wanted to provide humanitarian support. That's all," says the now 22-year-old naively. Both the public prosecutor and the judge don't believe him. "You have a high school diploma," said the counselor. Because the defendant finally backtracks and states that he at least thought it was possible that Hamas was financing the terrorist organization with the donations, the defendant gets off with a conditional prison sentence of ten months.