A 33-year-old was tried in Graz for allegedly kidnapping, torturing and shooting a police officer in Baghdad as a member of a terrorist organization. He did not feel guilty and stood trial for four days because he was confused with his brother. But the lie collapsed. On Monday he was sentenced to life in prison.
The suspect is said to have kidnapped a Sunni police officer in 2015 as a member of the Shia Badr organization. The victim was tortured – they pulled off his toenails and fingernails – and then killed with three shots to the back of the head. Before that, the terrorists extorted $45,000, which the family paid.
At home the death penalty applies
There is even an Iraqi arrest warrant for the asylum seeker living in Graz. But extradition is ruled out because he faces the death penalty in his home country. The Graz Regional Criminal Court must therefore conduct proceedings for murder and kidnapping as terrorist crimes. The 33-year-old’s accomplices have already been convicted in Baghdad.
The Badr organization, to which the suspect allegedly belonged, was of great importance in the trial. “She waged a bloodthirsty war against the Sunnis, the largest religious group in Islam,” the prosecutor explained in his plea. The terrorist militia financed itself through kidnappings.
Known for kidnapping and murder
Renowned Islamism expert Guido Steinberg explained in one of the recent negotiations that the suspect probably belongs to another, even worse militia: “The League of the Righteous,” Steinberg suspects. Photos on the 33-year-old’s cell phone would indicate this. “This militia is more known for kidnapping their victims, torturing them, holding them for ransom and then killing them anyway.”
A live video interrogation of the suspect’s brother from Iraq was scheduled to take place on Monday, on what is now the fourth day of the trial since February 2023. The 33-year-old initially claimed in the lawsuit that it was not he, but his brother, who was responsible for the atrocities.
Admitted arranging kidnapping
But because the interrogation could not take place in the Austrian embassy in Baghdad, but only in an Iraqi court, the suspect did not want his brother to be put under pressure. Ultimately, the defendant admitted that he had lied after all – out of sheer fear, as he claimed. And between the lines, he also admitted during the kidnapping that he had been on a kind of ‘watchdog duty’.
The 33-year-old has been in custody since February 2022. Now, after more than a year of trial, the (non-legally binding) verdict was handed down: life imprisonment.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
