Trial in Vienna

Six months for condoning the Hamas attack

A left-wing activist had published a questionable video after the Hamas attack on Israel.

(Bild: APA/EVA MANHART)

A left-wing activist - by his own account a Marxist and househusband and, according to his website, international secretary of the Revolutionary Communist International Tendency (RCIT) - was sentenced to six months' conditional imprisonment on Thursday at Vienna Provincial Court for a video for inciting or condoning terrorist offenses (Section 282a of the Austrian Criminal Code).

He had reacted to Hamas' terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 with a questionable video. The 56-year-old was not found guilty of publishing the video of a speech he had given on the morning of 7 October at Stephansplatz and which he had made publicly available on his website and YouTube channel on 9 October.

For omission
He was convicted because the video was available until the end and was not deleted. Judge Stefan Apostol ruled that, as the media owner of his website and YouTube channel, he was guilty of condoning terrorist crimes by refraining from doing so. At the same time, he ordered the 56-year-old to delete the video in accordance with a provision of the Media Act.

Fear of disruption
The verdict is not final. Defense lawyer Astrid Wagner asked for time to reflect, the public prosecutor, who had demanded a "very, very severe sentence" of up to two years, did not make a statement for the time being. Security had been tightened before the trial. Sympathizers of the man had registered and held a solidarity demonstration in front of the Grey House, and there were fears that the trial would be disrupted.

(Bild: APA/EVA MANHART)

Photography and filming banned
The trial was therefore moved to another room at short notice and a ban on photography and filming was imposed, not only in the courtroom but also in the entire third floor of the building. During the trial itself, however, everything remained calm, although the majority of the 56-year-old's supporters were unable to attend the trial due to a lack of seats.

A few hours after the Hamas attack on Israel, the defendant released a video entitled "Long live the heroic uprising of the Palestinian people!" in which he described the events in Israel as an "unprecedented event recorded by the Palestinian liberation fighters": "This is a huge and historic attack. We (...) know that this is a just war by the Palestinians. This is a just war against the ongoing occupation and against the oppression by Israelis against the Palestinian people." In his speech, delivered in English, the man, who insiders have attributed to so-called left-wing anti-Semitism for many years, spoke of a "struggle of the Palestinian people against the Zionist state" and a "just war", which the RCIT supports "unconditionally": "We say victory to the Palestinian resistance, down with the Zionist state."

When asked why he had not taken the video offline until the end, the defendant remarked: "I don't delete things of mine. I stand by what I do and say." In the end, he was convicted solely for this reason. The judge also rejected the defendant's statement that this was a "political trial". "If you had taken the video offline at some point, you would have been acquitted," the judge stated.

Terrorist attack by Hamas approved
In the eyes of the public prosecutor's office, the defendant had thus endorsed Hamas' terrorist attack against the Israeli state and its population and infrastructure in a medium accessible to many people - and in a way that was likely to create the risk of committing one or more terrorist offenses, as stated in the criminal complaint. The 56-year-old saw the criminal complaint in the run-up to the trial as an "attempt to silence the voices of solidarity with Palestine". At the same time, he announced: "But whatever the outcome of this case - we refuse to remain silent! We will continue to speak the truth and support Palestine and all oppressed peoples!"