“Trial Begins for Alleged Arms Supplier in Connection with Vienna Terrorist Attack”

In connection with the terrorist attack in Vienna, in which four passers-by were killed on November 2, 2020, the alleged arms supplier will have to answer in court next Tuesday. The spokesman for the regional court, Christoph Zonsics-Kral, confirmed the APA on Friday evening a message from the “Kurier” (online edition). Only offenses against the Weapons Act are incriminated; participation or complicity in the act of terrorism is not charged.

According to the criminal complaint, Marsel O., a suspected arms dealer, is said to have brought a Tokarev pistol to Vienna on September 25, 2020, a few weeks before the attack, and handed it over to the later assassin and the shop intermediary, Adam M. The assassin was shot dead by the police, Adam M. was sentenced to life imprisonment last February at the Vienna Regional Court for his involvement in the procurement of weapons and for contributing to four murders and multiple attempted murders.

As early as June 2020, at the instigation of Adam M., Marsel O. is said to have delivered the assault rifle used by the assassin in the attack in a red Mazda from Slovenia to the federal capital. The later assassin is said to have received the weapon in a bag near a shisha bar in Vienna-Leopoldstadt. A few weeks before the attack, the assassin is said to have received the ammunition in a plastic bag, which the Slovenian is said to have brought to Vienna for a fee. In both sales, Marsel O. is said to have been present alongside Adam M., the latter stated after his arrest during the investigation.

According to court spokesman Zonsics-Kral, however, the handover of the assault rifle and the ammunition are no longer the subject of the negotiations after Pentecost. The public prosecutor’s office withdrew the criminal complaint in this charge, which would have been considered a violation of the War Material Act. Zonsics-Kral announced that the judge responsible had therefore discontinued the proceedings relating to the War Material Act. Why the public prosecutor’s office withdrew from the pursuit of the assault rifle could not be clarified for the APA on Friday evening for the time being.

The prosecution had conducted domestic proceedings against Marsel O. – out of necessity, since Slovenia had refused criminal prosecution. There was never an arrest warrant for the Slovene – apparently the law enforcement authorities assumed that he did not know what the weapons brought to Vienna were used for.

The trial against Marsel O. is scheduled for just three hours. Only two witnesses are called, including Adam M. If Marsel O. is found guilty as charged, he faces up to two years in prison.