Attempted murder in the room

Gang violence with knives and sticks in Lehen

Major operation for the emergency services on the night of February 1

(Bild: Markus Tschepp)

A mass brawl between several Syrians in Lehener Park and an attack on several police officers - these were the two accusations at the trial in the regional court. The court now even found attempted murder or at least intentional grievous bodily harm in the case of two of the defendants. 

The night of February 1st was one of the bloodiest this year: two stabbings in the Salzburg district of Lehen kept the emergency services busy. One of the two criminal cases, a mass brawl between two rival gangs of Syrians, kept the Salzburg provincial court busy on Monday: at the time, more than a dozen Syrians got into a fight - a mass brawl with knives, wooden sticks and poles broke out between two groups. This type of gang crime had made headlines across Austria several times in recent weeks - keyword Vienna's Reumannplatz.

Only one admitted to stabbing

Several people were injured. Three men (19, 25, 32) suffered stab wounds. One Syrian, who is also said to have handled a knife himself, even suffered three stab wounds to his back. Danger to life? The public prosecutor's office doubted this and only brought charges of grievous bodily harm in conspiracy - in addition to the further charge of resisting public authority, as four defendants allegedly attacked and injured six police officers weeks later in May.

Due to the large number of defendants, the trial was held in the jury courtroom for reasons of space.

(Bild: Markus Tschepp)

However, only one of the previously innocent defendants came clean in front of the judge and admitted to the stabbings in Lehener Park. Otherwise, many contradictory statements were heard: One defense lawyer spoke of self-defense, another of his client's "hot-blooded" character. Some of the defendants were incriminated by DNA traces.

Verdict: The judge declared that she had no jurisdiction over two of the defendants, as she considered them to have committed attempted murder or at least grievous bodily harm with intent - not legally binding. The remaining defendants received suspended sentences of between seven and twelve months.