Six alleged accomplices of the ISIS-supporting gunman who slaughtered four in the 2020 Vienna attack have gone on trial.
Four people were killed and 23 injured in the mass shooting in the centre of the Austrian capital on 4th November, 2020.
The attack ended when police shot dead 20-year-old Kujtim Fejzulai – an ethnic Albanian with Austrian and North Macedonian citizenship.
And now six people accused of involvement in the Islamic terrorist attack have gone on trial at Vienna District Court.
Burak K., 23, Arijanit F., 23, Ismail B., 21, Hedayatollah Z., 28, Adam M., 32, and Ishaq F., 22, are variously accused of procuring weapons and ammunition, providing false documents, and helping Fejtulai put on combat gear on the day of the crime.
The latter five were described in German media as Kosovar, Austrian, Afghan, Chechen, and Austrian. All five were described as unemployed.
They reportedly face between 20 years and life behind bars if convicted.
According to local media, only long-haired Burak K. looked the same as he did in 2019.
The others turned up in crisp white shirts and jackets with tidy hair, leading the prosecutor to quip: “They present themselves here like monastery students.”
All six defendants are denying involvement in the attack, despite damning photographic evidence and chat logs to the contrary.
A seventh suspect – Arijanit F. – remains at large and is wanted by Austrian authorities.
Ismail B.’s lawyer is reportedly pushing for a full acquittal.
A verdict is expected in early February.
Burak K. was convicted along with Fejzulai for membership in a terrorist organisation in 2019.
Fejzulai was handed 22 months behind bars in April of that year after he tried to cross into Syria from Turkey to join ISIS.
He was released on parole in December 2019, eight months into his sentence.
