Already 31 previous convictions

Trial against Häfn regular is repeated

During the trial, the client of lawyer Elmar Kresbach repeatedly speaks of self-defense.

(Bild: Sophie Pratschner, Krone KREATIV)

He jokes with the presiding judge, politely thanks the court guards and warmly greets his probation officer - Kurti P. does not make a bad impression in the Vienna Regional Court. Probably routine after 31 convictions. But this is the first time he has sat in front of a jury and the bang is immediate: the sentence is suspended.

Kurti P. is no stranger to courtrooms - and not just because this is the second day of the trial against him at the Vienna Provincial Court. The 54-year-old already has an alarming 31 previous convictions. He is now facing his next conviction for attempted murder. And with the maximum sentence - life imprisonment - perhaps his last.

"He wanted to protect me"
Crime scene Fritz-Imhoff-Park in Vienna-Mariahilf: a popular meeting place in the drug scene. And so it was for Kurti P., who has been a drug addict since he was 13. "We drank beer and wanted to use cocaine," recalls a witness in Vienna's Landl district. Out of nowhere, a Syrian man barked at them. "He was quite impaired. He wanted drugs and we didn't give him any. I only know that I saw a knife. He came towards me and I wanted to run away," the 38-year-old tries to reconstruct despite gaps in her memory.

The crime scene in Fritz-Imhoff-Park - children were playing nearby ...

(Bild: zVg, Krone KREATIV)

(Bild: zVg, Krone KREATIV)

The accused Viennese then honorably intervened. "I know for sure that he wanted to protect me", the woman testified. Both were injured at the end of the "scuffle" - Kurti P. was stabbed in the stomach, while the asylum seeker suffered several stabs and cuts, including to his face. According to a medical report, this could have been fatal. This is why only the 54-year-old is in the dock.

Distressing past
However, he already denied an intent to murder at the start of the trial shortly before Christmas. He had been attacked first, had acted in self-defense - and presumably also out of intoxication. On the first day, he gave an insight into his past: "If I'm not feeling well mentally, I'll beat myself up." His father had been violent, his mother largely absent. He was later abused in a children's home. 

My client is not an altar boy, not a saint.

Verteidiger Elmar Kresbach

Bild: Bissuti Kristian/Kristian Bissuti

He finally found stability in prison when he was young. There he had a daily routine and rules that he had to stick to. During a prison sentence in Stein prison in Krems (Lower Austria), he completed his secondary school leaving certificate and also trained as a cook and waiter.

He told court psychiatrist Peter Hofmann: "I actually always felt most comfortable in prison." Trial observers can also see this clearly: While he looks emaciated and pale in photos from the day of the crime, Elmar Kresbach's client appears well-fed in court. 

Lay judge too lenient at 32nd sentencing
He is allowed to enjoy the Häfn menu for a while longer. The bang after several hours of deliberation by the lay judges: the jury's guilty verdict for "merely" attempted grievous bodily harm is suspended by the professional judges. Defence lawyer Elmar Kresbach criticized this harshly to the "Krone": "The decision was unanimous and should actually be respected." His client remains in custody until another trial is held.