Prison Sentence After Threat with Machete at Vienna West Station

The 40-year-old man was on the evening of April 16, 2023, in the U3, armed with a machete, got off at Westbahnhof station and drew the long weapon when he noticed four teenagers of Arab origin on the escalator. He swung the machete over his head and repeatedly shouted "Allahu Akbar!"

40-Year-Old Arrested at Vienna Westbahnhof After Threatening with Machete

In times of terrorist threat scenarios and attacks, where the Arabic call for "God is the greatest" is repeatedly chanted, not only the directly threatened teenagers but also other passengers were put in fear and unrest. The alerted police were quickly on the scene, the 40-year-old could be arrested still on the station grounds. The machete was secured. The man was under a weapons ban. In addition to the machete, he also had a can of pepper spray with him.

During the criminal investigations, it turned out that the defendant had threatened his neighbor two days earlier that he would "stab" him with a knife. Just a few hours before the subway ride with the machete, he had walked up and down in front of the neighbor's apartment with a drawn knife and had asked him to come down. The frightened neighbor refrained from doing so.

After Threatening with Machete: Defendant Considered Dangerous According to Psychiatrist

The defendant denied all allegations against him and claimed that he knew nothing about a weapons ban issued against him. The native Pole has twelve previous convictions in his home country. The incident at the subway station could be proven insofar as a jury had not only witness statements but also video material from the surveillance cameras of the Vienna lines.

With a penalty range of up to four and a half years, the jury considered a two-year unconditional prison sentence appropriate. In addition, the man was admitted to a forensic-therapeutic center under § 21 paragraph 2 StGB. According to an expert opinion by the psychiatric expert Peter Hofmann, the 40-year-old suffers from a persistent and serious mental disorder as well as the consequences of years of alcohol and cannabis abuse and is therefore considered dangerous. Without accompanying therapeutic measures during detention, new crimes with serious consequences would be expected after his release, Hofmann warned.

The 40-year-old was not at all satisfied with the verdict. Contrary to the advice of his defender Nikolaus Rast, the man was particularly unhappy with the accommodation in the measure enforcement. He would complain about this, "but not to the court, but directly to the Ministry of Justice," he emphasized.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.