According to a judge at the Burgenland regional court, there is no chance of partial or conditional sentences for defendants who smuggled three or more migrants into Austria.
At the Eisenstadt regional court, the traffickers hand over the handles to the hearing rooms. Yesterday alone, eleven people were brought in from custody – prison sentences rained down, two of them for a Moldovan (20) and his accomplice, who was two years older. Still half boys, one would think. But: 25 people on board. The blameless duo smuggled 25 Turkish citizens from Hungary across the border in northern Burgenland into Austria on July 13th. Crammed into a Ford Transit. The journey took around four hours. There was no water. The car was finally taken out of circulation in Vienna; supposedly the trip was supposed to have gone to France. “Each of us was promised 2,000 euros,” said the 20-year-old in front of the jury. “We needed the money! We got nothing.” Punches for the driver How uncomfortable the transport must have been for the passengers is reflected in the fact that a Turk gave the second defendant two punches in the face after getting out. “He drove like a madman. We shouted inside for him to stop. I thought we wouldn’t survive this,” said witness Hakan E., against whom the criminal case for bodily harm was dropped. Tears after the verdict The 20-year-old cried bitterly after the verdict was announced. Even his mother, who had followed the trial as a listener, couldn’t hold back her tears: 18 months for the “young adult”, 21 for the barely older partner he had recruited. Four months in custody will be deducted. “Eisenstadt is very strict with smugglers,” said chairwoman Gabriele Nemeskeri. “As a rule, we only have unconditional penalties here if three or more people have been smuggled.”
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