https://kurier.at/chronik/wien/gros...en-zu-wort-gericht-wien-attentaeter/402243132
So far, the accused, aged between 22 and 32, have not had a chance to speak. “You haven’t said much yet. That will change today,” the presiding judge also stated on Thursday morning.
Nevertheless: These are the first steps in a process that will probably last until next February. As always in the main courtroom, the listeners are confronted with the problem of poor acoustics. The lawyers also point out right from the start that the accused can hardly be understood.
First, Adam M. (32) is questioned. He is said to have given the guns to the assassin. “I didn’t know Kujtim F. But I’ve seen him,” he says. He was supposed to introduce “someone” to a Slovenian arms dealer. He didn’t give any thought to the reason for buying a rapid-fire rifle. “You must have been thinking of something,” the judge asks.
“The assassin came to me. He told me what he needed – a Kalashnikov – and I passed him on to the Slovenian.” What was his impression of Kujtim F.? “A lot of Muslims look like that. Long hair. Normally dressed.”
What he doesn’t say: Kujtim F. worked in the same security company as he did. “But there are 2,000 people there. I never saw him there.” Other defendants were also employed by the company. He doesn’t know these either.
The first handover of weapons to Kujtim F. took place on June 23, 2020. The Slovenian arms dealer came to Vienna. “But he didn’t want to be seen.” So Adam M. handed over the bag with the gun and handed over an envelope with money (probably 3,000 euros). “I didn’t want any of that money. But I got 500 euros.”
Another time a pistol and ammunition was brought to Vienna and handed over. Adam M. took over the handover again. This time he did not get any money, says the defendant.
Once again he claims that he didn’t think about the reason for the gun purchase. “You give a complete stranger a Kalashnikov, then ammunition and a pistol. You didn’t care what he did with it,” says the judge. “No, I didn’t,” says Adam M. But why didn’t he ask? “I can’t answer that. But that was the biggest mistake I’ve ever made. Unfortunately, I can’t undo it.”
Many Austrians also have weapons, says the accused. “I don’t think there are that many,” countered the prosecutor. “Most importantly, they don’t have a Kalashnikov.”
The second to be questioned is 22-year-old Ishaq F. He knew the later assassin from childhood days. “We played soccer together.”
Ishaq F. has already been sentenced twice. He had shared IS propaganda and recruited for the terrorist organization. Today in court he calls IS a “gang of murderers.” When he was in prison in Vienna-Josefstadt, Kujtim F. wrote to him on an illegal mobile phone. “He wanted to know if I knew anyone who sold a Kalashnikov,” says the 22-year-old.
He established contact with Adam M. Ishaq F. explains that he did give some thought to what Kujtim F. would need the gun for. “He told me he wanted to resell them. As long as he didn’t have any ammunition, he couldn’t do any damage with them, I figured.”
“Create News”
But old statements contradict that. Kujtim F. is said to have written to him: “I will provide news. When I get out, I will make an attack.” Specifically: at Stephansplatz.
Ishaq F. walks back his statement. He learned that from a third party, not from the later assassin. And: “In prison everyone talks so much nonsense.” He was aware of the radical attitude of his childhood friend. “But Kujtim condemned the attacks in Europe.”
When he was arrested, the shocked mother asked him, “Son, what have you done?” That’s in the extensive act. And so is the answer: “Mom, I didn’t do anything. I said back then that Kujtim wanted to make an attack. But nobody heard it.”
In court, the accused wants to show that he has been reformed. He has nothing to do with IS. In prison, he also had dealings with people who ate pork, he explains. However, a lot of radical Nasheeds were found on the 22-year-old’s cell phone. The lyrics read, among other things: “Fight with the knife!” They were downloaded after the attack. “I don’t know if something is radical until I listen to it. I can’t know,” says the young man.
“Killing Allowed”
In a chat, the man also wrote: “I’m not ashamed that my religion is allowed to kill.” “It’s in the Koran,” says the accused. “I’m a Muslim! Not a Christian or a Jew!”
The hearing will continue on Tuesday.
So far, the accused, aged between 22 and 32, have not had a chance to speak. “You haven’t said much yet. That will change today,” the presiding judge also stated on Thursday morning.
Nevertheless: These are the first steps in a process that will probably last until next February. As always in the main courtroom, the listeners are confronted with the problem of poor acoustics. The lawyers also point out right from the start that the accused can hardly be understood.
First, Adam M. (32) is questioned. He is said to have given the guns to the assassin. “I didn’t know Kujtim F. But I’ve seen him,” he says. He was supposed to introduce “someone” to a Slovenian arms dealer. He didn’t give any thought to the reason for buying a rapid-fire rifle. “You must have been thinking of something,” the judge asks.
“The assassin came to me. He told me what he needed – a Kalashnikov – and I passed him on to the Slovenian.” What was his impression of Kujtim F.? “A lot of Muslims look like that. Long hair. Normally dressed.”
What he doesn’t say: Kujtim F. worked in the same security company as he did. “But there are 2,000 people there. I never saw him there.” Other defendants were also employed by the company. He doesn’t know these either.
The first handover of weapons to Kujtim F. took place on June 23, 2020. The Slovenian arms dealer came to Vienna. “But he didn’t want to be seen.” So Adam M. handed over the bag with the gun and handed over an envelope with money (probably 3,000 euros). “I didn’t want any of that money. But I got 500 euros.”
Another time a pistol and ammunition was brought to Vienna and handed over. Adam M. took over the handover again. This time he did not get any money, says the defendant.
Once again he claims that he didn’t think about the reason for the gun purchase. “You give a complete stranger a Kalashnikov, then ammunition and a pistol. You didn’t care what he did with it,” says the judge. “No, I didn’t,” says Adam M. But why didn’t he ask? “I can’t answer that. But that was the biggest mistake I’ve ever made. Unfortunately, I can’t undo it.”
Many Austrians also have weapons, says the accused. “I don’t think there are that many,” countered the prosecutor. “Most importantly, they don’t have a Kalashnikov.”
The second to be questioned is 22-year-old Ishaq F. He knew the later assassin from childhood days. “We played soccer together.”
Ishaq F. has already been sentenced twice. He had shared IS propaganda and recruited for the terrorist organization. Today in court he calls IS a “gang of murderers.” When he was in prison in Vienna-Josefstadt, Kujtim F. wrote to him on an illegal mobile phone. “He wanted to know if I knew anyone who sold a Kalashnikov,” says the 22-year-old.
He established contact with Adam M. Ishaq F. explains that he did give some thought to what Kujtim F. would need the gun for. “He told me he wanted to resell them. As long as he didn’t have any ammunition, he couldn’t do any damage with them, I figured.”
“Create News”
But old statements contradict that. Kujtim F. is said to have written to him: “I will provide news. When I get out, I will make an attack.” Specifically: at Stephansplatz.
Ishaq F. walks back his statement. He learned that from a third party, not from the later assassin. And: “In prison everyone talks so much nonsense.” He was aware of the radical attitude of his childhood friend. “But Kujtim condemned the attacks in Europe.”
When he was arrested, the shocked mother asked him, “Son, what have you done?” That’s in the extensive act. And so is the answer: “Mom, I didn’t do anything. I said back then that Kujtim wanted to make an attack. But nobody heard it.”
In court, the accused wants to show that he has been reformed. He has nothing to do with IS. In prison, he also had dealings with people who ate pork, he explains. However, a lot of radical Nasheeds were found on the 22-year-old’s cell phone. The lyrics read, among other things: “Fight with the knife!” They were downloaded after the attack. “I don’t know if something is radical until I listen to it. I can’t know,” says the young man.
“Killing Allowed”
In a chat, the man also wrote: “I’m not ashamed that my religion is allowed to kill.” “It’s in the Koran,” says the accused. “I’m a Muslim! Not a Christian or a Jew!”
The hearing will continue on Tuesday.
