"Like in a gangster movie"

Man kidnapped and tortured to extort money

Five defendants had to stand trial in Vienna(Bild: Markus Wenzel, Krone KREATIV)

Four men and one woman (26 to 43) had to answer for extortionate kidnapping at Linz Provincial Court. All of them claimed to be accomplices who had only carried out an order and knew nothing of the background. One name comes up often, but this person did not have to testify and is considered insane.

"You usually only see scenes like this in gangster films: a man is dragged into a car on the street, gagged and threatened with a gun," said the public prosecutor, explaining the crime for which four Syrians and one German (26 to 43) had to answer at Linz Regional Court on Wednesday. In criminal law, this is called extortionate kidnapping and carries a penalty of ten to 20 years in prison.

175,000 euros in debt
What happened? On April 1, the defendants allegedly traveled from Tyrol to Linz in two cars to kidnap a Turkish citizen because his brother owed an acquaintance 175,000 euros. However, this was not their first "trip" to the steel city. On March 16 and 17, they had already tried to intercept the later victim - without success.

Victim intercepted outside restaurant
On April 1, they lurked for several hours near a restaurant where the Turkish man wanted to pick up food. When he arrived, everything happened in a flash: one of them dragged him into a van, where two other helpers were waiting. They are said to have tied up the victim and put a pistol in his mouth. The car sped off in the direction of Vienna, where the police were already waiting.

"Only driving service provided"
At the wheel was a German woman (41) from Tyrol, who claims to have known nothing about the kidnapping plans. "I only knew that they wanted to talk to someone in Linz," she told the judge. "Why do five people have to go along to talk?" the judge wanted to know. She had no answer to this and became entangled in further contradictions.

My client is not in a position to plan something like this. At Pinky an the Brain, he is Pinky.

Andreas Mauhart, Verteidiger des Erstangeklagten

Nobody wants to be the mastermind
The main defendant (26) also presents himself as a follower, he denies any blackmailing intent. He had been promised 1000 euros for his services by an alleged mastermind. Speaking of which: this man was declared insane and did not have to appear in court.

Three of the five defendants did not deny having taken part in the crime and admitted to deprivation of liberty and coercion - all offenses with much lower penalties. A verdict will probably be reached on Friday, when the victim is also due to testify.