A court in London has approved the extradition order for an Afghan man accused of gang raping and murdering a 13-year-old schoolgirl in Austria.
The Afghan man, 22, is wanted in Austria over the death of a 13-year-old girl called Leonie who was gang raped and murdered, and a court in the United Kingdom has now approved the extradition order.
Florian Hoellwarth, the lawyer for Leonie’s parents, has now said: “As expected, the extradition request was granted by the court in London.”
Leonie was raped and left to die on the street allegedly by four Afghan men on 26th June.
Three of the Afghans were later arrested in Austria, while the fourth one was arrested in London following an international manhunt carried out against him.
The schoolgirl lived in the city of Wiener Neustadt near Austria’s capital Vienna, along with her parents Melanie P., 40, and Hannes W., 39, and her four siblings aged 15, 17, 19 and 19, when the incident happened.
Initial findings revealed that the schoolgirl met two of the suspects, a 22-year-old man and his 16-year-old friend at the Danube Canal in the city of Vienna where they all took ecstasy on 25th June.
The two then took Leonie to the 22-year-old man’s apartment located in Vienna’s 22nd district named Donaustadt, where they were joined by two other suspects.
Police reported that the men gave Leonie more drugs in the apartment to “make her compliant” and then savagely raped her before rolling her body in a carpet and disposing of it on the street about 100 metres from the apartment.
Hoellwarth, the lawyer for Leonie’s parents, has now said: “As expected, the extradition request was granted by the court in London.”
But he added: “The extradition decision is not final.” He added that the 22-year-old has seven days to file an appeal, but if the decision reached on Wednesday holds up, then the extradition will take place within 17 days.
The 22-year-old fled to Britain after the incident, which took place on 25th June in the Austrian capital Vienna, pretending to be a refugee and crossing the channel on a boat before seeking asylum in the United Kingdom.
He was arrested by investigators at a hotel in Whitechapel in London on 29th July and has been awaiting extradition ever since.
The 22-year-old man, who has not been named, is wanted along with two other young men aged 16 and 18 over the violent death of the 13-year-old girl from Lower Austria.
Investigators found evidence that Leonie was repeatedly raped before she was murdered, as well as toxicological evidence that she had been given an overdose of MDA (methylenedioxyamphetamine), several different amphetamine derivatives, and THC (cannabis).
The suspects are being investigated for rape resulting in death.
