The man, who is suspected of insulting and pushing a Kenyan woman in front of an underground train in Vienna-Leopoldstadt, has been formally charged. He is accused of grievous bodily harm.
The public prosecutor’s office had previously accused the man of attempted murder, but instead, he is only accused of grievous bodily harm. The partner of the man is sued for failing to proceed to the assistance of the persons in distress.
It is surprising that the public prosecutor’s office has moved away from the suspicion of attempted murder. Witnesses stated that the man had looked onto the board, which showed that the next train would arrive in three minutes.
The man is believed to have told his girlfriend that “everything would be over in three minutes” and that she “should run”.
The public prosecutor’s office said, however, that there is no sufficient evidence for the intention of committing a murder. Instead of using jurors, a single judge will deal with the case.
The 36-year-old woman and her female friend, both Kenyans, had arrived at around 23.40 at the U2-station in Vienna-Leopoldstadt. The 51-year-old and his girlfriend were apparently disturbed by one of the women, who was talking loudly on the phone.
According to the victim, the partner of the man started insulting the woman in a racist way. The Kenyan woman then asked the woman what she had said, but the man punched her in the face and pushed her off the platform.
The woman broke her heel bone and could not climb up to the platform herself. A train would have arrived only 30-40 seconds later, but an eyewitness stopped the train by an emergency button.
The man’s defender Roland Friis explained that the women’s provocations were the last straw for his client. Apparently, he did not push her with the intention of committing murder.
Source:viennatimes
