https://exxpress.at/hohe-haftstrafen-sechs-afghanen-hatten-wehrlose-frau-sexuell-missbraucht/
The judge described it as “enormous contempt for humanity”: Six Afghan defendants had to stand trial for two days at the Feldkirch Regional Court for the sexual abuse of a defenseless woman. The fugitives received prison sentences of 7 to 12.5 years. The sentences are not legally binding.
The men, aged 23, 26, 29, 36, 52 and 57, were accused of sexually assaulting a 45-year-old, heavily drunk woman in a refugee accommodation in Bludenz in February 2022. In court, two of the men denied having had sex with the woman. The other defendants spoke of consensual sex. The fact that all of the accused had intimate contact with the woman was substantiated by a corresponding report. The expert’s statements in court, which were based on the relevant analyses, left no doubt about this. According to court psychiatrist Reinhard Haller, the accused were all sane at the time of the crime, even if two have a “slight mental handicap” and alcohol was also involved among the men.
In their interrogations on the first day of the hearing on Wednesday, several of the accused emphasized that the woman had always been “in a normal condition” during her stay of several days in the refugee home. This was contradicted on Friday by a witness from Vienna who had also lived in the home in Bludenz in February 2022. The woman was “completely drunk,” he said — so bad she could barely speak or stand on her feet. The 45-year-old herself, who claims to be a heavy alcoholic, testified on Friday via zoom call in camera.
At the beginning of the trial, the prosecutor had described that the victim had been flown out of the apartment after a dispute with her partner at the time. The woman, heavily drunk, was looking for a place to sleep. At Dornbirn train station, the third accused noticed her, spoke to her and offered her a place to sleep with the first accused in a refugee home in Bludenz.
Arrived in Bludenz, the 45-year-old was offered alcohol in the room of the first accused. Subsequently, the first three accused are said to have committed sexual abuse. According to the public prosecutor’s office, the next day the three other men also abused the woman. According to the DNA traces examined, there must also be a seventh man who abused the woman, but this has not yet been identified, she said.
In their pleadings, the men’s defense attorneys questioned the defenselessness of the 45-year-old. After all, the police showed up in the refugee home, the woman gave clear answers to the officers and wanted to stay in the refugee home. It is also questionable whether the men could have recognized the woman’s defenselessness – if she was there. The lawyers say it would have been possible for the 45-year-old to leave the accommodation at any time.
In contrast, the presiding judge stated in her verdict that the woman had been proven to be in a state of defenselessness. In this case, their consent to sexual intercourse – the men had referred to this – is of no importance, the judge referred to the established case law. The act testifies to “enormous contempt for human beings” and makes the jury speechless, she said.
The range of sentences was five to 15 years, in one case five to 20 years. The fact that the men were under the influence of alcohol was rated as a mitigating factor, and in the case of two men their irreproachable character. The circumstances of the crime made things worse – namely that several men in a row had sex with the woman without protection. While the prosecutor made no statement, the defendants’ defense attorneys each asked for three days to think it over. The judgment is therefore not final.
The judge described it as “enormous contempt for humanity”: Six Afghan defendants had to stand trial for two days at the Feldkirch Regional Court for the sexual abuse of a defenseless woman. The fugitives received prison sentences of 7 to 12.5 years. The sentences are not legally binding.
The men, aged 23, 26, 29, 36, 52 and 57, were accused of sexually assaulting a 45-year-old, heavily drunk woman in a refugee accommodation in Bludenz in February 2022. In court, two of the men denied having had sex with the woman. The other defendants spoke of consensual sex. The fact that all of the accused had intimate contact with the woman was substantiated by a corresponding report. The expert’s statements in court, which were based on the relevant analyses, left no doubt about this. According to court psychiatrist Reinhard Haller, the accused were all sane at the time of the crime, even if two have a “slight mental handicap” and alcohol was also involved among the men.
In their interrogations on the first day of the hearing on Wednesday, several of the accused emphasized that the woman had always been “in a normal condition” during her stay of several days in the refugee home. This was contradicted on Friday by a witness from Vienna who had also lived in the home in Bludenz in February 2022. The woman was “completely drunk,” he said — so bad she could barely speak or stand on her feet. The 45-year-old herself, who claims to be a heavy alcoholic, testified on Friday via zoom call in camera.
At the beginning of the trial, the prosecutor had described that the victim had been flown out of the apartment after a dispute with her partner at the time. The woman, heavily drunk, was looking for a place to sleep. At Dornbirn train station, the third accused noticed her, spoke to her and offered her a place to sleep with the first accused in a refugee home in Bludenz.
Arrived in Bludenz, the 45-year-old was offered alcohol in the room of the first accused. Subsequently, the first three accused are said to have committed sexual abuse. According to the public prosecutor’s office, the next day the three other men also abused the woman. According to the DNA traces examined, there must also be a seventh man who abused the woman, but this has not yet been identified, she said.
In their pleadings, the men’s defense attorneys questioned the defenselessness of the 45-year-old. After all, the police showed up in the refugee home, the woman gave clear answers to the officers and wanted to stay in the refugee home. It is also questionable whether the men could have recognized the woman’s defenselessness – if she was there. The lawyers say it would have been possible for the 45-year-old to leave the accommodation at any time.
In contrast, the presiding judge stated in her verdict that the woman had been proven to be in a state of defenselessness. In this case, their consent to sexual intercourse – the men had referred to this – is of no importance, the judge referred to the established case law. The act testifies to “enormous contempt for human beings” and makes the jury speechless, she said.
The range of sentences was five to 15 years, in one case five to 20 years. The fact that the men were under the influence of alcohol was rated as a mitigating factor, and in the case of two men their irreproachable character. The circumstances of the crime made things worse – namely that several men in a row had sex with the woman without protection. While the prosecutor made no statement, the defendants’ defense attorneys each asked for three days to think it over. The judgment is therefore not final.
