Trial in Innsbruck

Television smashed, man had to fear for his life

The accused is said to have attacked the victim with a hammer in his hands (symbolic image).

(Bild: Klemens Groh, thinkstockphotos.de, krone.at-Grafik (Symbolbild))

A 30-year-old Iraqi man is said to have suddenly stood outside the door of a former friend in Tyrol armed with a hammer and smashed a television. Now the man was on trial in Innsbruck.

Pretty best friends. That was probably once upon a time. The two Iraqis, who met in a refugee shelter in Tyrol in 2016, used to go to the gym and go for walks together.

Sister and mother insulted
That changed abruptly in the fall of 2023. "We argued violently on the phone and then had no more contact," said the accused at the trial. The reason for the argument remained unclear. "At some point, however, he insulted my sister and my mother," he explained. It also remained unclear whether the 30-year-old had even committed the crime: "I was in town that day and then at home."

He stood in front of my door, knocked hard at first and then damaged the peephole and door with a hammer.

Das mutmaßliche Opfer

Protected head and chest with forearm
The alleged victim, on the other hand, described: "He stood in front of my door, knocked hard at first and then damaged the peephole and door with a hammer." He then destroyed his television before finally hitting it with the hammer. Fortunately, he was able to avoid being hit in the head or chest with his forearm.

It could not be determined whether the man was actually at the scene of the crime at the time. A bus driver was only "80 percent sure", a witness was absent without excuse - hence the postponement to April 17.