More than ten victims

Lenient sentences for an incomprehensible spate of violence in Vienna

The four defendants in custody are facing serious charges.(Bild: Sophie Pratschner, Krone KREATIV)

It was completely senseless violence that nine young men committed last summer around Westbahnhof. The nine defendants, aged 14 to 18, severely injured over ten random victims. On video: Four of them brutalized a peer for minutes on end; one choked him until he lost consciousness—an attempted murder, according to the prosecution. The first non-final sentences have been handed down; no one is going behind bars after the trial day.

As the video plays in the Vienna Regional Court, the rows of spectators in the courtroom thin out. The scenes are hard to watch: covered in blood, the 18-year-old lies curled up on the floor, repeatedly begging, “I’m sorry. Please stop!”

Choked until unconscious
And once again, the first defendant, a 16-year-old, delivers an elbow strike to his face and kicks him in the head. Shortly before the younger second defendant chokes the victim with his elbow until he loses consciousness. They left the boy, severely injured, lying in Vogelweidpark in the 15th district.

Legally, we are covering the entire first part of the Criminal Code.

Staatsanwältin im Wiener Landesgericht

This was just the tip of the iceberg in an incomprehensible series of senseless violence last summer. “Legally, we’re covering the entire first part of the Criminal Code—that is, from simple assault to attempted murder,” the prosecutor charges the nine youths in total.

Disturbing act of vigilante justice
The motives leave one speechless: “In their eyes, there are reprehensible social groups.” In the area around Vienna’s Westbahnhof, they sought out drug addicts and homeless people and took out their aggression on them. They also beat up three victims as part of so-called “pedo-hunting”—because, according to the prosecutor, it was a “trend” on social media at the time. The indictment lists a total of more than ten completely random victims whom the boys, aged 14 to 18, assaulted in various scenarios.

Boasting about violent videos online
The defendants, of various nationalities, recorded this violence on their cell phones. “They bragged about the videos on social media,” said the prosecutor. “I am convinced that the spate of violence only ended because we arrested the first four defendants.” They are in pretrial detention due to the serious charges.

Defense attorney: “Not a bad person”
The defense attorney for the first defendant—who has neither a high school diploma nor a job—attributes this to the young age of the perpetrator: “We’re not talking about a bad person here. We’re talking about a teenager who has made a lot of very wrong decisions.” Hard to believe when you see, for example, how the 16-year-old makes the boy in Vogelweidpark beg on his knees, picks him up, and throws him to the ground. His attempt at remorse: “That day, he was talking to my girlfriend behind my back. So I just hit him.”

Partially suspended and suspended prison sentences
On the very first day of the trial, sentences were handed down for six individuals involved in various acts of violence: they range from 18 months partially suspended, six of which are to be served in prison, to a lenient eight months of suspended imprisonment. However, none of them will have to go behind bars after the verdict is announced—they have already served the unsuspended portion of their sentences in pretrial detention. A 15-year-old girl who acted as a decoy in so-called “pedo-hunting” was sentenced to five months of suspended imprisonment. The prosecutor did not provide an explanation for the verdict.

The trial against the three main defendants—two Romanians and a Syrian—has been adjourned until April 2. The 15-year-old Syrian, who strangled his victim until he lost consciousness, is even facing attempted murder charges. However, forensic pathologist Christian Reiter stated during the hearing that every single kick to the face or head was, in and of itself, life-threatening. In Vogelweidpark, the 16-year-old first defendant also kicked the victim several times. The prosecution is therefore charging him with intentional aggravated assault...