Who stabbed?

Acquittal of attempted murder at Vienna’s Reumannplatz

(Bild: APA/FLORIAN WIESER)

At the end of March, a series of stabbings rocked Vienna's Reumannplatz. The trial for the first attack is now coming to an end in Landl. On the second day of the trial, a witness will be heard who, according to the accused Syrian, is the actual perpetrator. He also denies the accusation. In the end, the jury cannot determine who really did the stabbing.

Crime scene Reumannplatz: On March 17, a 21-year-old was stabbed to death at this hotspot in Vienna. Because he showed civil courage and protected a young girl who was surrounded and insulted by a group of Syrians, one of them pulled out a knife. A 20-year-old is now sitting in the dock for the second day of the trial in Vienna's regional court - and yet the question remains: is this the right young man?

Open arrest warrant against witnesses
The Syrian vehemently denies the attack, which the public prosecutor's office is accusing of attempted murder. He was not the one who grabbed the knife, but an acquaintance. After a long investigation into his whereabouts, he now has to testify as a witness in the large jury courtroom. He is being presented from custody - there was already a warrant out for his arrest for a drug offense. 

Similarities are unmistakable
But the 29-year-old Syrian does not claim to have been the stabber either: "I was at Reumannplatz at the time, but not in the area where it happened. I only found out about it afterwards," he says on the witness stand. Striking: the two young men - the accused and his acquaintance - are similar in height and have the same build. Only the older one has a beard. "How long have you had it?" asks Mr. Rat, "I can't say," is the answer.

Lawyer Wolfgang Haas defends the 19-year-old Syrian.

(Bild: Andreas Schiel)

Even the 21-year-old victim and a young witness to the knife attack cannot say for sure whether it could have been the 29-year-old who reached for the weapon. Defense lawyer Wolfgang Haas is therefore demanding an acquittal for his accused client. The decision now lies with the jury.

And they cannot determine with a probability bordering on certainty that it was really the 20-year-old who wanted to kill the young Austrian. He is acquitted of attempted murder. He is given a three-month conditional prison sentence for making dangerous threats and attempted bodily harm - in connection with other incidents. The acquittal is legally binding.

The accused attempted murder marked the beginning of a shocking series of stabbings on Vienna's Reumannplatz at the end of March. On the same day, a 28-year-old man was stabbed by a stranger in the Favoritenstraße area. Also in March, an argument escalated on Reumannplatz in which a 32-year-old man was stabbed deeply in the thigh. On May 24, a police officer was attacked by a Jordanian (41) on Keplerplatz. Only the stab protection vest that the officer was wearing saved him from serious injury. A weapons ban zone has been in force in the area since March 30.