Incident at 3 a.m.

Serious assault around the Academics’ Ball

(Bild: Barbara Winkler)

Hours after the demonstration against the Graz Akademikerball, a case of serious bodily injury occurred on Sunday night. A 60-year-old ballgoer was attacked by two strangers.

As the police reported on Monday, the incident occurred at around 3am. The man from the Liezen district had just left the ball at the Graz Congress together with his wife. The unknown male duo attacked him from behind at Andreas-Hofer-Platz.

Injuries to the upper body
The man fell and suffered injuries to his upper body. It still needs to be clarified whether these were caused by the fall or by the punches and kicks he received beforehand.

The police were deployed in large numbers around the ball and the demonstration.

(Bild: Barbara Winkler)

After the attack, the perpetrators ran away. Three women, who according to the police had stood idly by and watched the incident, also fled. The daughter, alerted by the victim's wife, called the emergency services and the police were informed by a passer-by. The 60-year-old was taken to Graz Regional Hospital.

Two men and three women under suspicion
An initial search by police officers from the nearby Schmiedgasse police station was unsuccessful. An investigation is underway for grievous bodily harm. Both the two men and the three women, whose role is still unclear, are under suspicion.

Around 2000 people took part in the counter-demonstration in the city center.

(Bild: Traby Jakob)

The demonstration and the ball itself went off without a hitch despite the large crowds. According to the organizers, around 2000 participants had protested loudly for around three hours from 5.30 p.m. against the ball, which they see as a "networking meeting of German national, right-wing extremist fraternity members". According to the Styrian "Offensive gegen Rechts", they were "celebrating their racist, queer-hostile world view" in the congress boxes.

Connection with anti-ball demo unclear
The police cannot confirm a direct connection between the demonstration and the night-time attack due to the lack of information. "The investigations are only just beginning", said spokesman Heimo Kohlbacher to the "Krone". From a police perspective, the rally and the time after it broke up at around 8 p.m. were "more than calm".

Police spokesman Kohlbacher is asking for help: "If anyone witnessed anything or even has pictures or video footage of the incident, we would ask them to contact us."

(Bild: Pail Sepp)

Apart from the victim's shocked wife, there are currently no direct witnesses, so there is no exact description of the perpetrator. The police are appealing for information from the public, including information about the three women who may have been charged with failing to render assistance.