Young men accused

Trial for allegedly tortured hedgehog in Vienna

A hedgehog is the (absent) protagonist in the unusual trial in Vienna's Landl district.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com/Biewer Juergen)

While day three of the Hells Angels trial is taking place on the first floor of the Vienna Provincial Court under the strictest security precautions, an unusual trial against six young men is taking place two floors above. The Syrians are accused of cruelty to a hedgehog. However, the case turns out to be completely different from what the public prosecutor has charged.

On 10 May, the accused, most of whom work as food deliverers, allegedly mistreated a hedgehog in a parking lot in the Bohemian Prater, according to the Vienna public prosecutor's office. "They threw it back and forth for several minutes and kicked it. The second defendant also tried to set it on fire," the public prosecutor begins. The sextet pleaded not guilty to the incident.

Hedgehog sat behind a parked car
They would often meet at this location to play soccer or cards, reports the 22-year-old first defendant. "We heard a noise behind a car. That's when we saw that it was a hedgehog," he recalls. "I took it and wanted to put it in the bush where it would be safe and couldn't be run over." Before that, they took photos of the hedgehog for social media. They also put children's sunglasses on the animal and briefly sprayed it with water. They then placed the prickly encounter in the bushes.

Was the report an intrigue?
The accused is certain: "The complaint was racially motivated." There was a group of Turks in the parking lot and there were problems between Turks and Syrians at the time. The Turkish group was also drifting in the parking lot with cars and almost rammed into them. 

We have never seen a hedgehog in our lives. That's why we took the photos and videos.

Ein Angeklagter im Prozess

The other defendants describe the situation similarly. "We've never seen a hedgehog in our lives. That's why we took the photos and videos." The second defendant shows Judge Katharina Adegbite-Lewy the footage - including a video of the young men stroking the hedgehog. "There is no evidence of abuse of any kind," Ms. Rat states.

Witnesses contradict each other
The first of the two women, who had filed a complaint and are apparently friends with the Turkish group, described the situation at the trial in less detail than she did with the police. Suddenly there was no more talk of minutes of throwing back and forth and kicking. "They were very rough with the hedgehog. In the end, they threw him into the bush," the woman now says. The second witness puts it more harshly: "It was like throwing a glass bottle onto the ground with full force," she claims. "And the others laughed." They also "played soccer" with the hedgehog and sprayed it with rim spray.

Why should we hurt animals that have done nothing to us? We have pets that we love ourselves.

Die jungen Männer zeigten sich über die Vorwürfe schockiert.

Picture on evidence pictures not rolled up
"Why should we hurt animals that have done nothing to us? We have pets of our own that we love," says one of the young men. Another said he had three cats and two birds at home and was shocked by the accusation.

Also strange: the witnesses took two photos of the hedgehog after the alleged abuse. They show the animal and the young people standing around it. The hedgehog is not curled up and does not appear frightened or injured. The police later searched for the hedgehog, but it could no longer be found.  

Outright acquittal
After a two-and-a-half hour trial, the judge acquits the six defendants as expected - not legally binding because the public prosecutor does not make a statement.

The Turkish group has achieved one thing: the Syrians have now found another place to "chill out". It remains to be seen whether the witnesses will be charged with giving false evidence.