Six men are suspected of sexually assaulting a drunk woman in Bludenz in Vorarlberg in February. The six alleged perpetrators, all Afghan nationals, are due to appear in court soon. The charge is ready.
The men, who have been detained since July, have essentially not confessed, court spokesperson Dietmar Nußbaumer reports from the file.
Little is known about its contents
There is little information about the content. The charge of sexual abuse of a defenseless or mentally disabled person covers the period from 21 to 24 February. The victim was under the influence of alcohol, says the spokesman for the regional court in Feldkirch. Five of the men have been in custody since July 11 and another person was taken into custody three days later.
With regard to victim protection, Nußbaumer does not want to provide information about the relationship between the victim and the perpetrators. According to the file, the suspects have not confessed to the allegations. In one case it is denied that the contact came about through the woman, according to the court spokesman. The charges were served on Monday.
Media made possible crime public
The media, first the online medium “Exxpress”, made the case public in July. According to reports from various media, the abuse took place during a meeting in a refugee house in Bludenz. Several men and the woman had visited a householder and alcohol and drugs were allegedly used. The woman was taken to hospital, where a suspicion of sexual abuse was established.
The police defend themselves
There was initially no official information about the incident. The facts were so unclear that it was not possible to come out with reliable facts in February, the police justified in July after the suspects were arrested. The investigation subsequently revealed new facts that led to the arrest of the suspects.
Sharp criticism of the FPÖ
Vorarlberg’s FPÖ had strongly criticized the fact that there was no substantive statement from the police on the matter and submitted a parliamentary request to the State Security Council Christian Gantner (ÖVP). According to the “Neue Vorarlberger Tageszeitung”, Gantner replied that the request related to matters of the security police, criminal law and residence law, and referred to the responsibility of the federal government.
Anyone seeking protection in Austria must also abide by the prevailing legal system and system of values. According to Gantner, anyone who fails to do so and has been convicted of serious crimes should be consistently deported.
It was “superficially” unsatisfactory that the suspects had been on the loose for quite some time. However, this was necessary for research reasons.
Source: Krone
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