A 27-year-old woman was held accountable at the Vienna Regional Court for antisemitic postings, which – as the presiding judge noted – “go far beyond what we typically handle here under the Prohibition Act.”
The defendant, originally from Upper Austria, was sentenced to 18 months of probation for Nazi-related activities.
“In principle, these postings are unacceptable,” the presiding judge clearly stated in the reasoning of the verdict.
She initially commented “Death to the Jews” on a post reporting on the Israeli troops’ invasion of the West Bank. Three minutes later, she followed up with an allusion to Adolf Hitler, thereby, according to the final judgment, endorsing the extermination of Jews in the Third Reich and glorifying Hitler.
The 27-year-old was reported to the “Reporting Office for NS Activities” established by the Ministry of the Interior. Due to the filing of the complaint in Vienna, the trial took place in the federal capital.
“At fault for writing it, guilty I am,” said the 27-year-old at the beginning of her interrogation as a suspect. She stated that she had reacted to previous comments “in favor of the Jews.” She acted “thoughtlessly”: “I got carried away.” She admitted that her second post was “terrible.” She had not thought it through and wanted to counter with “triple hatred.”
The woman did not express words of regret. However, she complained that she had been reported anonymously.
