Am 11. September starts in the Grand Jury Courtroom on Vienna Regional Criminal Court a four-day trial against three alleged members of the Rockerbande Hells AngelsThe men are accused of a number of crimes. The allegations range from re-offending, extortion, bodily harm, drug-related offenses, coercion to dangerous threats. All three will be released from custody for the trial, two have now surprisingly been released from custody.
The main defendant and the third defendant were sitting in custody for ten monthsHowever, they have now been released because the requirement for speeding up the proceedings was violated, court spokesman Christoph Zonsics-Kral confirmed a report by the Kronen NewspaperThis means that the proceedings must always be carried out quickly and without unnecessary delay, especially when the accused are in custody. They are entitled to either “the earliest possible verdict or to be released from custody during the proceedings”. As the charges were brought in February and became final in April, but the trial had not yet begun, the lawyers for the two men filed an appeal, which has now been accepted by the Vienna Higher Regional Court. The Vienna Higher Regional Court speaks of “significant delay in a custody case”. The third accused – listed as the second defendant in the proceedings – was always at large.
Protection racketeering
The trio is primarily accused of extortion. The three members of the biker club are said to have raided an Upper Austrian bar on September 17, 2023. The operator was initially made to understand that he either had to pay or “we’ll be back”. Then the Mann umzingeltwith a Punch brought to the ground and then kicked him at the DJ booth. The bar owner suffered injuries to both eyes, bruises and scratches on his chest and back. The DJ was also injured in the eye with a blow to the head. A bar guest was jostled, causing him to be thrown against a wall and fall to the ground.
According to the prosecution, the three were not particularly gentle in their assault. They often made threats afterwards. For example, they told a bus driver: “If there is a complaint, I’ll kill you.” And further: “You’re the first one we’ll get.” There was also little respect for police officers. One officer was shown the Hitler salute and the slogan “Sieg Heil” was chanted loudly several times. When he was arrested in October 2023, one of the suspects said: “I will use my power and take it out on one of you and in a dark place one of you will bleed.” He would even get a “nice medal” for that, the accused said.
