The Situation for Belgian Jews

Joods Actueel is a Jewish Dutch language (or Flemish if you prefer) news outlet in Belgium. In this very timely piece currently running, Jonath Weinberger writes about the plight of Belgian Jews today in the midst of the Israeli-Hamas war. It is translated by Fousesquawk.

 https://joodsactueel.be/2024/01/30/belgische-joden-in-de-knel/

Belgian Jews in a pinch

January 30, 2024

Is the situation for Jews in Belgium worrying? Unfortunately, that would be an understatement. It is five minutes to midnight, maybe five minutes after midnight. Worst of all, the policymakers are complicit in the alarming increase in anti-Zionism and Jew hatred.

Jonath Weinberger

Each day, Jews in Belgium are confronted in a painful way by the war in Israel. The Palestinian flags waving everywhere and the painstaking distribution of "Free Palestine" stickers are part of the street scene in many Belgian cities these days. Thus, Jews are constantly reminded of the horrors of October 7. Many are regularly harassed by chants of "Free Palestine" or even worse- the genocidal tune, "From the river to the sea".

In education as well, Jewish students no longer feel safe because they are spoken to in a reproachful tone about the conflict in Gaza. In some schools, anti-Israel pamphlets are even distributed. Other schools organize a minute of silence for the victims in Gaza. But not one word, nor a minute of silence for the more than 1,000 slaughtered men, women, and children on the Israeli side. Nowhere is there a demand for the innocent Israeli hostages to be released.

In Ghent, a group of family doctors decided to boycott  Israeli medicines. They called on colleagues and pharmacists to follow their example. "Kauft nicht by Juden"? (In German: Don't buy from Jews")

Even parties can no longer be held without Palestinian propaganda. The Flemish opening event in Mechelen, on the occasion of the Belgian EU presidency, was disrupted by pro-Palestinian activists. A poet proclaimed pro-Palestinian messages, and from the audience, sounded, "From the river to the sea". When singer Laura Tesoro took her turn on the stage, things got no better. On the contrary, by waving a Palestinian flag on the stage, she excited the visitors even more. A well-organized group of activists succeeded in hijacking the public space with a misleading, one-sided campaign. The brutal, murderous attack on October 7 on a music festival, among others, and several kibbutzes has completely disappeared from view, just like the hostages.

Jihad expert

The one-sidedness of the reporting of the Flemish broadcast is striking here. They invited almost exclusively pro-Palestinian activists, who got an open forum to spread their hate and lies. The extremist, Abou Jahjah, a sympathizer of the terrorist Hezbollah movement, had no problem in questioning whether Hamas had actually committed the horrors of October 7. This Lebanese-Belgian extremist has now established his own political movement; the ideas of the party are easy to guess. Jahjah refuses to call Hamas a terrorist movement. And the Arabist, Montasser AlDe' emeh - a self-described jihad expert- shows his extremist side and is allowed to make a number of completely out-of-the- (blue) accusations against Israel on TV without any critical questions. By not allowing the other side in this conflict hardly a word, the public broadcast not only makes a serious mistake but also fails to calm the whipped-up mood.

You see this on the street, where the anti-Jewish violence is increasing. That varies from deliberate pokes while jogging to being dragged off a bicycle. On January 13, a 19-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of illegal weapons possession and preparing for a terrorist attack. Friends of Palestine come down hard when Jews buy products from Israel. Absolutely no (form) of intimidation or act of violence is shunned. 

And then, as a well-meaning, concerned fellow human being, you expect politicians to take hard action against the increasing Jew hatred in our society. Alas. With few exceptions, there is a deafening silence in this area. Nor is there anything heard about the Israeli hostages, who are still being held prisoner under harsh conditions in Gaza.

Politics

Our ministers blunder, consciously or unconsciously. The visit of Premier Alexander De Croo to Israel left a bitter aftertaste. Together with his Spanish colleague, Pedro Sanchez, he held a press conference at the location where the handover of hostages took place. That was, of course, not the right place, nor the right time. De Croo made it worse by pleading for a complete cease-fire and an end to causing civilian casualties. The message was received with applause by Hamas, who even congratulated the Belgian prime minister on X with friendly words.

But it turns out that was not enough. Petra De Sutter, federal vice-premier and minister for Government Enterprises and Civil Service Affairs, writes on X: "Belgium cannot continue to watch what is happening in Gaza. It looks more and more like genocide. And that's why I want our country, just like South Africa, to go to the International Court of Justice. I am laying that on the table within the government." 

A politician should know that the use of the term "genocide" is not a light matter. Genocide is the taking away of the right to exist of an entire human group, which in practice, means mass murder of that group. The industrial murder of Jews during the Shoah was genocide. The mass murder of Armenians at the start of the 20th century was genocide. But it was the Hamas terror movement that began the war with the bloody October 7 pogrom in Israel.

That the death toll in Gaza is high is completely due to Hamas, who never took any measure to protect the citizens of Gaza. On the contrary, For years, Hamas has deliberately used schools and hospitals, among others, as bases and weapons depots. The terror group provoked the war, and from that moment, hid behind the hostages and its own population. Israel is adhering to the rules of conducting war. The large death toll from a conflict does not (constitute) genocide. In addition, as a state, Israel is responsible for the security of its citizens. As long as Hamas controls Gaza, Israel is not safe. That is why it is absolutely necessary to put an end to Hamas once and for all.

That Minister De Sutter wishes to join with a country like South Africa, where human rights are uncritically violated, shows that she has ill will toward Israel.

Punishable

Caroline Gennez, Minister for Development Cooperation, went a step further with the question: "German friends, are we going to again stand on the wrong side of history?" Comparing the war against Hamas to the Shoah? That is not just shocking; that is a trivialization of the Holocaust- a punishable act in Belgium. Minister Gennez should be more concerned about the Belgian tax money which, under the guise of development cooperation, goes directly into the pockets of terrorists. The minister has previously said that she wants sanctions against Israel for "war crimes".

You can imagine that many Jews no longer feel comfortable in Belgium. The Jewish community is waiting for a strong political signal against the growing anti-Semitism. January 27 is the International Day of Holocaust Remembrance, a moment that many politicians seize to show compassion for the victims of the Shoah. But the Jewish community has no need for empty phrases: "Never again is now!"

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Jonath Weinberger is a volunteer in a group under the leadership of Michel Kotek, which wants to bring a balance in the reporting of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on the one hand and combat anti-Semitism on the other. The group consists of both Jews and non-Jews.

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Spain: North African (Known to Police) Goes on Rampage Attacking Women in Barcelona Metro

-ElCaso.com

Yet another heartwarming story out of Spain. One fine morning at a Barcelona metro station, a North African dude starts striking people for no apparent reason whatsoever. His last victim is a woman looking at her cell phone, whom he viciously knocks to the ground with a blow to her face. Upon arrest, it is determined that the young man is no stranger to the police.

The below article in the Spanish news outlet, ElCaso.com, complete with surveillance camera video, is translated by Fousesquawk. (Viewer warning.)

 https://elcaso.elnacional.cat/es/noticias/brutal-agresion-metro-barcelona-hombre-ataca-sin-sentido-mujer-camp-arpa-video_1156891102.html

Brutal attack in Barcelona metro: Man senselessly attacks woman in Camp de l'Arpa

Guillem RS/Julio Collado 

Barcelona Feb 9, 2024 08:59

The brutal, senseless attack (occurred) Friday shortly before 10 in the morning in the Camp de l'Arpa de la I.5 station in the Sant Marti district in Barcelona. As can be seen in the images of the security cameras on the metro platform, which ElCaso.com has had access to, a man confronts and attacks several people until he finally strikes a girl who was awaiting the arrival of a train with a strong punch to the face. The woman, who was looking at her cell phone and did not expect the attack, fell on her back to the ground suffering a heavy blow. In fact, the attacker used such force that he himself ended up losing his balance and falling to the ground.

(Catalan police) have identified the attacker

The attacker, in view of everyone who watched incredulously in surprise at what had just happened, got up and ran away. Several witnesses to the incident quickly went to try and stop him and help the victim, who was left dazed and dizzy, while calling 112 to report the incident. The Catalan police proceeded to the Camp de l' Arpa and were able to identify the attacker, who had been detained by security guards before he could escape. He is a young man of Maghrebian origin (North Africa), long known in the criminal world of Sant Marti with several previous arrests.

With respect to the victim, in spite of the spectacular nature of the attack, as can appreciated from the images from the station's security cameras, she only suffered minor injuries, for which she has received medical attention. The other persons who were on the platform, some of whom also suffered the aggressor's attack with less force, emerged without injuries. The Investigative Unit of the Area of Regional Urban Transport (ARTU), the unit charged with crimes such as robbery and attacks that take place on public transportation, has opened an investigation into the incident to determine the motives for the attack. According to what ElCaso.com has been able to learn from police sources, the attacker may have been having mental health problems although this point will have to be confirmed by the investigation. 

The "Bond" Between Indiana University and Purdue

Hat tip Campus Watch 

                                                                                                                                     

                                                                                                                             

                                                                               

"And it’s what binds us together today"

-From the IUPUI website

Did you know that Indiana University and Purdue have a joint campus? The fact is that the two universities have bonded together (no pun intended) in Indianapolis.

So it really should come as no shock that the campus was offering students an event dedicated to.....

Bondage!          

I say "was" because the event has now been canceled. Campus Reform has the story.

"Fynch was invited and sponsored by the university’s Office of Health and Wellness to teach her class as a part of IUPUI’s Healthy Relationships Week."

Hat tip to Lou Baltimore, a Campus Reform reader who commented:

"Campus Reform contacted IUPUI Health and Wellness, Fynch, and Ryan Anderson for comment" . . . and was told, "Sorry, they're tied up right now."

Honestly, Folks, you can't put a price tag on 4 years of this stuff. And just think: This isn't California; this is in Indiana!

Hillary Clinton Disrupted at Columbia

Columbia University had yet another embarrassing incident Friday as Hillary Clinton arrived to give a speech on something or other. If you are wondering how much money she was paid for this latest gig, I don't know. As she began speaking, the little rascals from the pro-Hamas movement began to shout and disrupt her until they were escorted from the room.

Make no mistake: I am no member of Hillary Clinton's fan club, but I do defend her right to speak even if she charges hundreds of thousands of dollars for it. It may be tempting to chuckle and feel good about the Empress Dowager getting heckled, but I am consistent in defending the right of speech for those I disagree with.

There are a lot of obnoxious voices in American academia today, and not all of them are students. Few are as annoying and obnoxious as the pro-Palestinian/pro-Hamas knuckleheads of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and their like-minded activists. (Whether SJP was involved in this latest incident, I do not know.)

SJP and their allies are rarely if ever disrupted when they put on their speaking events, but disruption is the standard practice for those who advocate for the Palestinians against Israel. I condemn what happened to Clinton Friday just as I have condemned these clowns when they disrupt speakers with whom I agree with. When I attend a speaking event of the other side, I listen quietly, often videotape, and more often than not, participate in the q and that usually follows.  My questions or comments are critical, but I would never try to take away a person's right to speak. It is my conviction that these clowns are incapable of formulating a well-thought-out question in opposition to the speaker's views. So they disrupt. They also disrupt because they do not believe in freedom of speech for those whom they disagree with. 

Columbia, like far too many American universities, has a problem. Disruption is not supposed to be what a university stands for-by their own definition. They are supposed to stand for free and open exchange of views on a wide spectrum of topics. Yet, today, our universities are marked by the type of displays seen yesterday at Columbia. Usually, it is when pro-Israel, pro-American, or pro-conservative speakers are involved, however infrequently they are featured. In this case, it was Hillary Clinton. We conservatives should not make an exception for her. 

As for those who disrupted Clinton, if they were Columbia students, they should be expelled. If they were Columbia professors, they should be fired. Not because Hillary Clinton was their target. It is because they do not respect free speech and civilized behavior.

 

Anti-Jewish Posters at Columbia U.

Posters of a clear anti-Jewish nature have been found at Columbia University. The university has been the subject of numerous complaints of anti-Semitism in recent years. In response to recent incidents, the campus chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) is currently under suspension.

The New York Post is running a report on the latest incident.

-NY Post

I have checked the campus newspaper, the Daily Spectator (dated today), which does not appear to have anything on the story. I have passed along the NY Post article to the campus paper's tip line.

Italy: Somali Arrested for Sexual Assault in Bologna

"Play it again, Sam"

It's still the same old story. A 20-year-old Somali migrant, illegally in Italy, sexually assaults a young woman on the streets of Bologna. The below article from Il Giornale is translated by Fousesquawek.

 https://www.ilgiornale.it/news/cronaca-locale/bologna-stupra-ragazza-e-picchia-soccorritrice-arrestato-2280214.html

Bologna:  Sexually assaults a woman and beats ( a woman who came to her aid). 20-year-old Somali arrested

February 8, 2024 at 11:39

It occurred in the university area. The woman was returning home when she was attacked from behind and abused. In addition, the woman who came to her aid was kicked. The 20-year-old Somali, illegally in Italy, was identified by the victims. 

By Rosa Scognamiglio

Attacked from behind and abused outside her home. It is the latest sexual violence committed in the university area of the city of Bologna. The attacker, a 20-year-old Somali, without a fixed abode and in Italy illegally, after the sexual assault, also kicked a girl who had tried to aid the victim, a woman of 30 years of age. Fortunately, the intervention of a police patrol avoided the worst. The foreigner, who is now in the Dozza jail, must answer for sexual violence, beating, and receiving stolen goods. The police officers seized some cell phones of dubious origin from him. 

The shocking sexual violence

The sexual assault was committed on via Belle Arti, which already had appeared in the news a few months ago because of another (case) of sexual violence. It was at 9:40 pm on Tuesday. The 30-year-old was returning home when she was surprised from behind by the Somali. After having tried a verbal approach in vain, he grabbed her violently and groped her in her private parts. The woman screamed and struggled. He ran away but was then chased and stopped by a girl who had tried to aid the victim. At that point, the foreigner, threw himself at the young girl, kicking her. After that, he disappeared. 

The capture of the attacker

Meanwhile, a patrol car from the Due Torri San Francisco police station was passing by via Belle Arti. The officers immediately stopped and took the statements of the two females. In the course of a few minutes, another patrol car tracked down the attacker in Puntoni Square. The foreigner tried to dodge the police stop, but the officers stopped him and arrested him. Now he is in the Bologna jail awaiting validation of the arrest. Besides the sexual violence, the young man is also charged with beating and receiving stolen goods, given that he had an iPhone 14 with him (stolen) and two other smartphones of dubious origin. 

Previous (assaults)

As Il Resto di Carlino (News)  well recalls, last September, also on via Belle Arti, a girl was thrown to the asphalt by two Tunisians who tried to rape her. Fortunately, a passerby succeeded in chasing away the attackers, avoiding the worst. A couple of months later, in November, another woman was attacked by a Gambian. In that circumstance, the foreigner was stopped by the police while committing the act. 
"The mayor (should) get back to caring about Bologna," said Matteo Di Benedetto of the Lega (political party) in regard to the terrible story. "We understand that there are issues of a national character that interest him more, but the security must return to the center of the Bologna political agenda," 

 

Switzerland: Iranian Hostage Taker Shot Dead by Police

-NZZ

On Thursday evening, a 32-year-old Iranian asylum-seeker, known to police, took hostages on a train in western Switzerland. Police had to storm the train and shot the attacker to death. No hostages were wounded.

The below article from the Swiss French-language news outlet, Le Matin, is translated by Fousesquawk.

 https://www.lematin.ch/story/vaud-train-attaque-lauteur-a-ete-formellement-identifie-103039434

Train attacked: The perpetrator has been formally identified

The 32-year-old man responsible for the taking of hostages, Thursday evening, was known to police services. His motivations are reportedly tied to his conditions as an asylum-seeker.

Caption: The man had taken passengers hostage on a train between Baulmes and Yverdon-les-Bains (Canton Vaud) Thursday evening, February 8, 2024.

X Screen capture

We know more about the man who took passengers hostage on a train connecting Baulmes and Yverdon-les-Bains (Vaud) Thursday evening. And his motivations.

According to a statement from the cantonal police of Vaud, he is a 32-year-old asylum-seeker of Iranian nationality, residing in the canton of Geneva.

The hostage taker was armed with a hatchet, a hammer, and a knife. Around 10:15 pm, members of the (police) intervention team attacked. One of them first used his taser to immobilize the man, who rushed at them, the Vaud police state.

The armed individual, nevertheless, continued his path in the direction of the police and the passengers. It was then that a member of the unit used his weapon to neutralize him. The man was mortally hit, and no hostages were wounded.

The police knew him

According to the initial elements of the investigation, his motivations are reportedly linked to his conditions as an asylum-seeker, as well as his insistent desire to have contacts with a (female) staff member at a center for asylum-seekers.

The police had also had to intervene several times because of his behavior. states the press release. The investigation continues under the direction of the Public Prosecutor's Ministry.

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*Update: The Swiss German-language outlet, Blick, has a 45-second cell phone video from one of the hostages in which the hostage taker is speaking to the passengers in broken English.

https://www.blick.ch/schweiz/westschweiz/mit-axt-bewaffnet-voruebergehende-geiselnahme-in-einem-zug-in-der-waadt-id19416198.html

Biden Confuses World Leaders-Living and Dead : Hitler Reacts

My latest Hitler parody masterpiece!

This week, Joe Biden had problems with the names of world leaders, living and dead, not to mention their countries. First, he gave a speech in which he confused the current French president, Emmanuel Macron, with the late former French president Francois Mitterand, and confused France with Germany. In a subsequent speech this week, Biden confused former German chancellor Angela Merkel with a former German chancellor, the late Helmut Kohl. In both instances, he first stated that he had spoken with Mitterand and Kohl in recent years when, in fact, both leaders have been dead for several years.

In Berlin, Hitler reacts to the news from deep inside his bunker.

Dept. of Education Investigating Binghamton University in New York

Hat tip Campus Reform and Pipe Dream (Campus newspaper of Binghamton  University)

"From the river to the sea...."

The University of Binghamton, part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system, has joined the growing list of universities being investigated by the Dept. of Education, Office of Civil Rights. This follows a complaint brought by Zachary Marschall, editor-in-chief of Campus Reform, lodged on behalf of Jewish students alleging anti-Semitic harassment on the part of pro-Palestinian activists on campus. This comes in the wake of a Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP)-organized walkout on October 25, 2023, in support of the Palestinians, in which a speaker stated that Israel was worse than Nazi Germany, a strange comparison, indeed, coming after the horrific Hamas attack of October 7.

All I can say is that it is about time. In 2014, it was revealed that the SJP chapter at Binghamton had produced a document in which it openly declared that disrupting pro-Israel events was a part of their strategy and policy. Ten years later, maybe-just maybe- something is being done about this toxic, brown shirt organization

Juan Cole and Judicial Opinions

This article first appeared in New English Review.

Juan Cole

“It is every individual’s obligation to confront the current siege in Gaza”

-US District Court Judge Jeffrey S. White

University of Michigan comedian Juan Cole has picked out a ruling by a federal judge in the Northern District of California in which the judge dismisses a complaint brought by a group of US-based Palestinians that sought the court to order President Biden to "end support for the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza" by Israelis, or some such rot. However, in dismissing the case, US District Court Judge Jeffrey S. White (who is based in Oakland of all places) goes on a propagandist rant against Israel's war against Hamas while conceding the obvious: That the court has no jurisdiction to dictate Biden's foreign policy, a decision he could have given in ten words or less. Cole's analysis, which is currently appearing in his curiously-named blog, Informed Comment, can be accessed here.

In quoting large segments from White's ruling as to the actions of Israel in Gaza and the Biden administration's "support" for Israel, Cole gets it right in one respect: It is truly remarkable but in a negative sense. 

On the surface, it seems hard to pigeonhole White as a leftist, activist judge. He was nominated to the federal bench by President George W. Bush. However, to insert all that irrelevant language into his ruling strikes me as activism even if he failed to give the Palestinian activist groups the ruling they wanted. What the judge should have stated was that notwithstanding the merits or lack thereof of the matter at hand, the court had no jurisdiction. Dismissed, period, full stop. To throw in all his personal opinions about Israel's war vis-a-vis Hamas and/or the Palestinian people was pure political theatre, unprofessional at best, and unethical at worst. But even an extremist judge would know that he/she could never get away with ordering a president to cease supporting an ally at war. Any such ruling would have been quickly reversed, much to the judge's chagrin. One wonders how Judge White would propose enforcing "every individual's obligation to confront the current siege in Gaza."

For Cole to pick out and embrace the political grandstanding of this judge is hardly a surprise. Cole is a professor whose specialty is Middle East history, but he apparently fancies himself as a polymath. His principal cause is that of the Palestinians and as such, he is a longtime critic of Israel-even in the face of the horrific October 7 attack by Hamas. When it comes to the subject of Islam, Cole's writings are downright hagiographic-witness the title of his "opus" work, "Muhammad: Prophet of Peace Amid the Clash of Civilizations", as described in this hagiographic book review by Eleni Zaras in the staunchly anti-Israel Washington Report on Middle East Affairs.

It seems that Cole would be perfectly happy if some judge in Oakland could order a president to stop providing aid to a particular allied country under attack. What if some federal judge somewhere could order a president to attack a particular country, like Israel, Canada, or France, for example? Ridiculous? Of course, but so is the idea that a judge could order a president to cease support to Israel. This case should have been summarily laughed out of court, not given the dignity of a judge's personal political opinions. 

Sweden: Iranian Intelligence Agents Allegedly Targeted Swedish Jewish Leader for Murder

Swedish news outlets are reporting that in 2021, an Iranian man and an Iranian woman, posing as Afghan refugees, were taken into custody suspected of planning to carry out murders of certain Swedish Jews, including the chairman of the Jewish Central Council, Aron Verständig.

The below article from Fria Tider is translated by Fousesquawk.

We are working on a separate Swedish video from SVT in which it is revealed that this is likely just the tip of the iceberg as far as such Iranian operatives in Sweden are concerned.

https://www.friatider.se/iranska-agenter-misstanktes-att-planera-mord-pa-svenska-judar

Caption: Fereshteh Senaeifarid and Mahdi Ramezani were given asylum as Afghans. One of the suspected targets was Aron Verständig, Chairman of the Jewish Central Council.

Iranian agents suspected of planning murder of Swedish Jews

Posted 6 February 2024 at 07:07

Domestic: A pair of agents from Iran's military intelligence service allegedly mapped out three Jewish targets in Sweden in 2021, according to Ekot (Swedish National Radio). However, there was insufficient evidence for charges.

The Iranian couple-Mahdi Ramezani and Fereshteh Senaeifarid- were given asylum in Sweden in 2017 as Afghans.

This was in spite of the fact they submitted false IDs, and the Migration Agency was alerted that the man, in fact, was an Iranian who worked for the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. The Migration Agency's language analysis also raised questions as to their claimed Afghan origin.

The duo was arrested in April 2021 in the Stockholm area, suspected of conspiring to (commit) a terrorist crime. They are suspected of having been given the assignment of planning a murder attack in Sweden.

The three intended targets were all Swedish Jews, whom the couple gathered information about. One of them was Aron Verständig, Chairman of the Jewish Central Council, according to Ekot.

"Very uncomfortable," says Aron Verständig to Ekot.

The couple was taken into custody on reasonable cause and denied wrongdoing, but no charges were brought.

"There was a plan of action. There were contacts with Iran. Then exactly how that would be carried out against the targets, that was where we failed to gather this necessary evidence that had been a basis to be able to bring charges," says Prosecutor Hans Ihrman to Ekot. 

En lieu of charges, the couple was deported to Iran during 2022 on grounds they were viewed as a serious security threat against Sweden.

Ekot has sought out Iran's embassy and the suspected couple for comment without success.

Austria Deals With Another (Preventable) Migrant Gang Rape

"Scheisse!"

In 2021, Austria was shocked by the brutal gang rape and murder of a teenage girl named Leonie at the hands of three Afghan men. Now the country is dealing with a similar case involving the sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl by - you guessed it- two Afghans who should have never been allowed to enter the country. This time; fortunately, the girl survived.

The below article from the Austrian daily, Heute, is translated from German by Fousesquawk.

 https://www.heute.at/s/neuer-fall-leonie-13-jaehrige-auf-drogen-vergewaltigt-120017784

Horror in court

New Leonie case- 13-year-old raped on drugs

In Vienna state court, a case is being heard that is reminiscent of Leonie. A (surviving) 13-year-old was allegedly brutally attacked.

2-2-2024 at 17:47

The “Leonie case” shocked Austria in 2021 and still does today. As reported, Leonie (15) had spent the evening of June 25, 2021 with her best friend (15) in Tulln (and) texted to a 27-year-old on her friend’s cell phone asking him to drive her to Vienna. Leonie said goodbye to her friend and met the 27-year-old shortly before midnight in Tulln. The auto parts dealer took the girl to Vienna, where she then went with a 20-year-old and a 23-year-old to the apartment of a 19-year-old. In the mini apartment in Vienna, Leonie was reportedly given drugs.

The girl passed out and was subsequently raped several times. Her body was found the next day on a grassy strip in Vienna-Donaustadt where the perpetrators reportedly left it. It was only 18 months after Leonie’s death and after a trial lasting several months, that three Afghans (23, 19. and 20) were found guilty in Vienna Regional Court on December 2, 2022. All three defendants were found guilty of murder and rape: Life imprisonment for the 23-year-old, 20 years for the apartment occupant (19), as well as 20 years for the previously “blameless” ex-boyfriend of the girl (20), all legally in force.

Drugged then raped

Now the Vienna State Court is hearing a new case that is horribly reminiscent of the Leonie case. Fortunately this time, the victim, also 13, survived. But the alleged behavior of the suspects again leaves one speechless. The girl, who repeatedly ran away from home and consumed drugs, was in an intoxicated state on the night of 27 November 2022 when she met two young men (ages 17 and 21) in Vienna. The two suspects reportedly quickly decided to take the 13-year-old to the apartment of the 17-year-old. There the victim was reportedly given more drugs,

TikTok videos allegedly show how the victim slipped into drug intoxication as the two suspects physically approached her. When the 13-year-old was heavily affected by the drugs, the two defendants allegedly attacked and raped the victim unprotected. The victim was found the next day by her sister, who had located the 13-year-old’s smartphone in the apartment of the defendants. When she picked up her sister, she was found in such bad condition she could not put her shoes on by herself. Later the facts came to light.

Defendant reportedly "didn't care" about age

The older defendant missed the Friday court proceeding due to illness and will be given a new trial date. According to insiders, the 23-year-old reportedly confessed ("I'm ashamed to have slept with a child.") The statements of the younger defendant were shocking in that he had no consciousness of guilt. The three-time convict claimed not to have known how old the victim was (although she first said she was 15 before giving her real age). According to the prosecution, although the then 13-year-old, who even today, as a now 15-year-old, looks childlike and in no way, a young adult, the defendant did not care.

After a pause in the proceedings, then came the explosion. The now 19-year-old revealed that he was the father of a small daughter and wanted therapy so that he could have a "normal" life with the child's mother and his child (they live separately from him in a social facility). It is also questionable what role the 41-year-old mother of the 19-year-old played, who was also in the apartment on the night of the crime. According to "Krone" (News), she is also accused because, in her interviews, she claimed not to know her son's friend and alleged co-perpetrator. Since there are no witnesses, the trial has been postponed to March 6.