Day two in the terror trial at the Regional Criminal Court in Vienna. Six young men, who allegedly supported the Vienna assassin Kujtim F. in the run-up, have to answer to a jury.
Adam M. (32) is questioned first. He is said to have provided the assassin with the weapons. “I did not know Kujtim F.. But I have seen him,” he says. He was supposed to introduce “someone” to a Slovenian arms dealer. He says he did not think about the reason for buying a rapid-fire rifle. “You must be thinking of something,” the judge inquires.
“The assassin came to me. He told me what he needed – a Kalashnikov – and I relayed that to the Slovenian.” What impression had he had of Kujtim F.? “A lot of Muslims look like that. Long hair. Dressed normally.”
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 does not know them either.
Once again, he affirms that he did not think about the reason for buying the weapon. “You hand over a Kalashnikov to a complete stranger, then also ammunition and a pistol. You didn’t care what he did with it,” the judge says. “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 ever made. Unfortunately, I can’t undo it.”
Many Austrians would also have weapons, the accused says. “I don’t think there are that many,” counters the prosecutor. “Above all, they don’t have Kalashnikovs.”
The 22-year-old Ishaq F. is the second to be questioned. He knew the later assassin from childhood days. “We played football together.”
Ishaq F. had already been convicted twice in this regard. He had shared IS propaganda and recruited for the terrorist organisation. Today in court he calls IS a “gang of murderers”. When he was in custody in the Josefstadt district of Vienna, Kujtim F. texted him on an illegal mobile phone. “He wanted to know if I knew anyone who sold a Kalashnikov,” says the 22-year-old.
He put him in contact with Adam M. Ishaq F. explains that he was very concerned about what Kujtim F. needed the gun for. “He told me he wants to resell it. As long as he has no ammunition, he can’t do any harm with it, I thought.”
In court, the accused wants to show that he has reformed. He had nothing to do with the IS. He explains that in prison he also had to deal with people who ate pork. However, a lot of radical Nasheeds were found on the 22-year-old’s mobile phone. The texts read, among other things: “Slaughter with a knife!” They were downloaded after the attack. “I don’t know if something is radical until I listen to it. I can’t know,” the young man says.
In a chat, the man also posted: “I am not ashamed that my religion is allowed to kill.” “It’s in the Koran,” says the accused. “I am a Muslim! Not Christian or Jewish!”
The trial will continue on Tuesday.