Acquittals of Robbery in Vienna

The prosecution had accused them of following an 18-year-old from the Matzleinsdorferplatz S-Bahn station on August 2, 2025, pressing a knife against his throat, and robbing him. They turned themselves in to the police after wanted photos from Vienna Lines surveillance cameras were published in the media.

The boys, aged 17 and 19, went to a police station on November 5 without having contacted a lawyer beforehand. They were immediately arrested and have been in pre-trial detention since then due to the risk of committing the offense. The two have no prior convictions, speak perfect German, and were in their third year of apprenticeship as a glazier and electrician, respectively, when they were taken to the Josefstadt correctional facility.

Defendants Could Not Explain the Accusation

Before a jury, the two defendants vehemently denied having robbed the 18-year-old. There was no motive, they neither needed money nor his mobile phone. They had met the boy on the S-Bahn, got off at the same station, and took the same exit. He "looked at them strangely" and "said something," but nothing more happened. They could not explain the accusation.

The 18-year-old, on the other hand, described the robbery in detail to the court, which he had outlined in broad terms at a police station immediately after the alleged act. "There is no reason why he should have invented it," said the prosecutor after the witness questioning. He, like the two defendants, "made a good impression."

The court agreed in the end. The 18-year-old appeared "credible" and there was "no reason apparent why he should lie," said the presiding judge. Nevertheless, the defendants were acquitted: "The two do not fit the profile of suspects we usually deal with. Why should they do something like that?" The wanted photos only showed the young men, but no criminal acts were documented. "It is therefore statement against statement. We cannot determine the truth. If the decision-making bodies cannot say it was as stated in the indictment, an acquittal must follow." The prosecutor agreed with this decision. He waived the right to appeal in the courtroom.

(APA/Red)

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