Serious allegations are made against a course leader at the Theresian Military Academy in Wiener Neustadt. He is accused of torture, coercion and abuse of office during an exercise. This took place in the course of the so-called military officer course, it was obviously a kind of prisoner of war. However, the consent of the participants concerned was not obtained, and there was also no possibility of withdrawing from the exercise.
The allegations were made in a statement of facts available to the APA. This was initially sent to the Economic and Corruption Public Prosecutor’s Office (WKStA) and from there it was forwarded to the public prosecutor’s office in Wiener Neustadt. In a training scenario not included in the curriculum, a kind of war captivity of ensigns is said to have taken place in February for training purposes, according to the accusation. The consent of those affected was never obtained, and there was also no possibility of withdrawing from the training. The description of the facts reports, among other things, about “targeted and permanent stress” on February 16th and 17th, the ensigns were treated inhumanely and “exhausted and tortured”. suspected endangerment of physical safety, deprivation of liberty and dangerous threats. Degrading treatment under Section 35 of the Military Penal Code is also in the room. An investigation order has been available since November 9th, it was emphasized. Two superiors of the course director had also been reported. In these two cases, no investigations were initiated.Head still on dutyAccording to federal army spokesman Michael Bauer, the head of the course is still on duty. “Investigations are exclusively the responsibility of the public prosecutor’s office,” with which “they work closely,” said Bauer. Administrative assistance was requested, which will also be complied with.
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