It was two young men who made their way to Syria to join IS in autumn 2018. It was the end of the line in Turkey, they were brought back to Austria and arrested. The now convicted (30) had sent several messages to the companion of the later Vienna assassin and also collected money.
The assassin from November 2, 2020 is dead, he shot four people on the Vienna Terror Night. One of his like-minded comrades has already been sentenced to prison in Vienna. Now a 30-year-old with Turkish roots sat before the jury and said that he had never had “direct contact” with the assassin.
But just to its companion. According to the court’s opinion, it must have been clear to him that his text messages such as “I wish you the best, my brother” or “May Allah help you” also reached the later assassin and were seen as support for his plan .
“I haven’t thought”
The defendant denied this to the end, saying that “I have nothing to do with terrorism”. And the money he had collected from fallen IS fighters for widows and orphans? “Maybe I was too relaxed in the past,” he admitted, “I haven’t thought.” But he still wants to support those in need, “but rather light in the dark or children with cancer”.
That could take a while – as well as the return to the boards that mean the world to him. Critics saw him as a gifted actor. For the time being, his stage is the prison: 22 months imprisonment, not final.