Shocking crime in Vorarlberg: Five Afghan nationals are strongly suspected of having gang-raped an Austrian woman. There is no press release about this crime – apparently the case was supposed to remain secret. The Feldkirch public prosecutor’s office has now confirmed the arrests to eXXpress.
“We can confirm that four Afghan nationals have already been remanded in custody, and the fifth suspect will be remanded in custody today,” Dr Heinz Rusch, spokesperson for the Feldkirch public prosecutor’s office, told eXXpress.
What is known so far about the case, for which no official press release exists, is that the five suspects are believed to have gang-raped an Austrian woman. Dr. Heinz Rusch confirms: “Yes, an investigation is underway on suspicion of sexual abuse of a defenceless person.”
The judiciary could not say how the victim of the asylum seekers was doing. No further information on the alleged perpetrators has been released yet.
However, the current case in Vorarlberg is very reminiscent of the tragic death of Leonie, who was only 13 years old in Vienna in June last year: four Afghan migrants aged between 16 and 23 were also involved in the alleged rape of the Viennese girl. The schoolgirl died – and was dumped by the suspects on a grass verge in the Donaustadt district of Vienna.
In Vorarlberg, lawyers who have been aware of the case for several days are irritated by the public relations work of the executive: this alleged crime was not reported to the media, there was no press release on the arrests of the Afghans. One lawyer told eXXpress: “It is not the task of police departments to politicise by keeping quiet about certain criminal cases”.