Attempted murder trial

Victim wanted to mediate, got a knife in his stomach

The 22-year-old had to stand trial in the "61er", the large courtroom in Linz.(Bild: Christoph Gantner)

The 34-year-old had actually only wanted to mediate on the night of May 1st in the center of Linz - but he was stabbed in the stomach by a 22-year-old with Afghan roots. The victim only just survived thanks to emergency surgery. If convicted, he faces up to life imprisonment.

A 22-year-old man who allegedly stabbed an unknown reveller in the abdomen on the night of May 1st in the center of Linz, Austria, has been on trial for attempted murder since Monday. The motive is unclear, but it is assumed that the victim wanted to settle an argument. The accused pleaded not guilty: "I won't deny the stabbing, but I did it in self-defense," he claimed.

Already has four previous convictions
The 22-year-old - an Austrian born in Afghanistan - already has four previous convictions and was only released from prison in January 2024. On the day of the crime, he was in a bar in the Schillerpark area, as was the later victim. Exactly how the crime took place shortly after closing time is not entirely clear and must be reconstructed as best as possible with witness statements and surveillance videos.

Victim stood between the quarrellers
According to the public prosecutor's office, there was a heated argument in front of the bar involving several people, including the accused and an acquaintance of the victim. However, the alleged crime took place a little later on the other side of the street. A surveillance camera filmed the victim's acquaintance and the accused standing opposite each other and the victim apparently wanted to stand between the two. The 22-year-old then allegedly pulled out a knife, rammed it into the other man's stomach and fled.

Survived only thanks to emergency surgery
The victim pursued the fugitive and finally collapsed. The stabbing caused the man to lose one and a half to two liters of blood and he only survived thanks to a rapid rescue chain and emergency surgery, according to the public prosecutor. The perpetrator was caught shortly afterwards and admitted the crime to the police. However, he remained largely silent during the preliminary proceedings. His defense lawyer Andreas Mauhart speaks of self-defense, saying that his client only stabbed him once and in the stomach, where "the probability of survival is relatively high", the lawyer believes.

"I was simply afraid"
The defendant himself also insisted on self-defense: the murder weapon did not belong to him - he had a weapons ban - but he had found the knife during the scuffle beforehand and picked it up so that nobody would get hurt, he said. The later victim had been aggressive and had said "Give me the knife, otherwise you'll get into trouble". "I was just scared." He admits to having stabbed him, but "I didn't feel anything, I didn't know if I had hit him", he claims.

High threat of punishment, verdict not today
After the examination of the accused, the trial was interrupted because the victim and his relatives, who are also to be heard as witnesses, did not appear on time. Several witnesses as well as a medical expert and a psychiatric expert are to be heard in the course of the trial. A verdict is not expected on Monday. A further hearing has been scheduled for November 27 at least. If found guilty as charged, the 22-year-old could face ten to 20 years in prison or life imprisonment.