Bubi gang in court
“Wanted to gain a reputation as serious criminals”
Organized like the Mafia, nine teenagers are said to have terrorized a cell phone store in Vienna-Meidling. They tried to set it on fire with Molotov cocktails, and a blackmail letter was then supposed to bring in thousands of euros in protection money. The Bubi gang is now sitting before the court of lay assessors in Vienna. While the defence describes them as "not dangerous", the juvenile court authorities speak of "advanced radicalization".
They celebrate newspaper articles about their deeds on videos, pose proudly for photos with firearms and machetes, a group photo shows the gang in front of a mosque in Vienna-Meidling. All of this is shown to the jurors in Vienna's regional court on a large screen while the public prosecutor makes his detailed plea about the Bubi gang.
Arson attacks on Viennese cell phone shop
The young defendants present a completely different picture at the start of the trial. The nine young people look at their hands, almost shocked, while it is explained in detail how they had formed a gang and what position each individual held.
They were out to build a reputation as serious criminals who were respected. They had a view of violence as something very positive.
Staatsanwalt im Wiener Landl
Especially with the main allegations concerning a cell phone store in the 12th district. The gang demanded protection money from the operator, otherwise there would be violent attacks - three times in the form of Molotov cocktails and pyrotechnics, once they committed a robbery. For protection, they demanded 25,000 euros from the Indian in a blackmail letter.
"They were out to build up a reputation as serious criminals who were respected. They had a view of violence as something very positive," opens the prosecutor. "There are two main offenders. For them, it was a way of life to get rich from it." The remaining seven defendants were hierarchically subordinate.
Chechen gang as a role model
The defence lawyer for a 19-year-old gang leader provides background information on the motivation behind the criminal organization: "Their role model was the Chechen gang 'Goldenberg' with members in the three-digit range." - a protection money gang that was broken up at the beginning of 2015. However, the defendants never made it that far.
Defense lawyers do not see the gang as "highly dangerous"
Lawyer Philipp Wolm also repeatedly emphasized that, at the end of the day, his client was a 17-year-old teenager and not the second head of a mafia-like gang: "Everything is afraid of my client, we have now heard from the public prosecutor. I have known him for eight months and I am not afraid. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, you don't need to be afraid of him either. His dream is to become a nurse."
The defense lawyer for the sixth defendant, Alexander Philipp, also interjected: "I've been doing this job for 30 years and I know what the mafia is and how it works. But they're all still youngsters. They are not dangerous." Lawyer Astrid Wagner describes her 15-year-old client as a "follower": "It boosted his self-confidence a bit back then."
Lawyer Florian Kreiner, who represents the second defendant and also the second in the gang hierarchy, sees the 16-year-old's contribution to the crime as much smaller than the prosecution describes: "They wanted to make it into the media in some way." That is why the teenager filmed one of the arson attacks. Nonetheless, the gang of boys confessed almost exclusively and comprehensively, but did not want to say anything else about the accusations.
Defendants already "advanced radicalized"
While the defense lawyers consistently speak of youthful recklessness and naive behavior, reports from the juvenile court and another criminal complaint paint a completely different picture. At least the two main perpetrators were already "advanced religiously radicalized". In Steinbauerpark, one of them is said to have insulted men as "infidels" and subsequently beaten them up ...
Several trial days have been scheduled for the trial. Witnesses and other parties involved are to be heard. They face long prison sentences.
This article has been automatically translated,
read the original article here.
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