Controversial Ruling

Refugee from Vienna Went on a Rampage on a Train: No Jail Time!

Crime scene investigators and police searching for evidence after the axe attack on the ICE train en route to Vienna. The Federal Office for Migration and Asylum initiated proceedings to revoke the asylum status of the recognized refugee from Syria, who is registered in Vienna.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/dpa/picturedesk.com/ARMIN WEIGEL)

Armed with a hammer and an axe, a Syrian refugee from Vienna attacked passengers in a Deutsche Bahn train in Bavaria packed with 500 people, as if in a bloodlust. A train engineer was also seriously injured. Now, one year later, the controversial verdict for the attacker: The man, now 21, will not serve jail time but will remain in a psychiatric hospital.

Terrifying scenes unfolded on July 3 aboard the ICE 91 train traveling from Hamburg to Vienna in Bavaria. Several passengers—including a train engineer—were repeatedly attacked with an axe by Mohamad A., a Syrian man who was 20 at the time.

Train attacker has already been convicted here as well
Background: The refugee, registered in Vienna, had arrived in Austria in 2021 as an unaccompanied minor via Turkey after three years on the run and had been granted asylum. He had already been convicted twice here for acts of violence: once for aggravated assault in Salzburg, and in another case for resisting law enforcement...

The attack on the Deutsche Bahn train, during which the young refugee was also armed with a hammer, ultimately left four people seriously injured. Now, one year later, the axe attacker has been put on trial in Regensburg, Bavaria, on charges of multiple counts of attempted manslaughter.

Crime scene investigators and police search for evidence following the axe attack on the ICE train en route to Vienna. The Federal Office for Migration and Asylum initiated proceedings to revoke the asylum status of the recognized refugee from Syria, who was registered in Vienna.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/dpa/picturedesk.com/ARMIN WEIGEL)

“Purely a coincidence” that no one was killed
The fact that no one was killed during the defendant’s bloodthirsty rampage is, in the judge’s view, “simply a coincidence.” His ruling: The now 21-year-old will remain in a psychiatric hospital and will not be sent to prison!

This is because, according to German authorities, the defendant is schizophrenic. Mohamad A. exhibits paranoid tendencies with delusions and a loss of touch with reality. The official legal wording states: “At the time of the crime, he was, due to his illness, unable to act in accordance with the understanding that the act was wrong.” In other words: The axe attacker is not criminally responsible.

To this day, the victims relive the attack in their nightmares
In response to an inquiry from “Krone,” the Ministry of the Interior confirmed that the asylum revocation proceedings, which had already been initiated, are continuing following the verdict. For the victims, this comes too late. They still suffer today from headaches, dizziness, or panic attacks on public transportation—and regularly relive the attack in nightmares.