It is the day of judgment in the terror trial surrounding the St. Pöltner apartment. The Viennese assassin, who killed four people and seriously injured 23 on November 2, 2020, is said to have prayed there and strengthened his radical Islamist sentiment. The accused is now the tenant of the apartment, who is also said to have taken an “ideological leadership position” in the jihadist scene.
She is said to have played a central role in the radicalization of the Viennese assassin. According to the indictment, the small apartment in St. Pölten was the center of the jihadist scene in Lower Austria and Vienna. The 24-year-old in the Vienna Regional Court: the tenant. But that wasn’t his only role. In addition to Arabic, he is said to have taught Islam in the apartment – and thereby tried to recruit young people. For his “brothers” he is said to have taken an “ideological leadership position”. Also for the shooter of the assassination attempt in Vienna’s city center. One day after the bloodbath in Vienna on November 2nd, the apartment was stormed by WEGA. An extensive jihadist library was available to the forces. This was confirmed by an Islam expert on the second day of the trial. For him there is no doubt that the accused and the other men who met in the apartment have radical Islamist views. A representative of the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Combating Terrorism also said in court: “From the point of view of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the crème de la crème of the Salafist jihadism scene traveled from Vienna to St. Pölten.” were present at the meetings in the St. Pöltner apartment. A 25-year-old is presented by the prison guards. He is already in custody on charges of terrorist organization. To most of the questions from the judge and the public prosecutor about the Islam lessons or IS, he replies: “Not really” or “I don’t know anymore”. But he would have learned Arabic from the accused. “Otherwise we drank tea or talked about everyday topics. About work and such,” says the detainee on the witness stand. Jihadist books “quite normal” The second witness called was also in the apartment. He even paid for the rent. “We have nothing to hide. We only learned Arabic,” says the 25-year-old. But he would have noticed the books. But the witness didn’t find it bad: “They are taught quite normally in Islamic countries and are not forbidden.” seen of the shooter’s hand at a meet. The witness is also of the opinion that one should not wear the ring. But for another reason: “It’s a sign from the Prophet!”, he says – much to the astonishment of the judge: “No, that’s not why it’s forbidden. That’s a seal used by IS!” The witness doesn’t want to know that… The same applies to a third young man on the witness stand. Defense attorney sees no evidence of guilt. Sascha Flatz picked this up in his closing speech: “How much more evidence should I bring than 18 witnesses who all say, ‘No, there was nothing!’?” He emphasized again that his client had not translated the books, but proofread only. The accused also never kept a “jihadist library”. “According to an expert, around 240 books were found on my client’s premises and two of them were possibly somehow jihadist,” says Flatz. “The act has nine volumes. And in those nine volumes so little was found. There is de facto no evidence,” he tried to refute the charges. However, should there still be a guilty verdict, he demands: “I ask for a lenient verdict, a second chance. This is a young person” Last words by the accused But the accused still had the last word and he had a lot to say. He sat back in the middle of the hall with an A4 note written by hand. He had been thinking all night long about what he wanted to tell the court at the end of his trial. First he addressed the terrorist attack on November 2, 2020 in downtown Vienna: “I want to make it very clear that I know what happened , sorry. I believe in God, but not in a God who wants you to walk the streets and kill people. I can’t even imagine how the families of the victims feel and also the people who were afraid of death. My God doesn’t want something like that.” If he had known about the attack, he would have reported it immediately, he explained to the judge. He also gave up his final responsibility for the remaining charges: “I hope you see it that way, too I have not participated in a terrorist organization, IS. And I hope to go home today with an acquittal.” He is sentenced to 19 months in prison!
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