VIENNA, May 27 (Reuters) – A 24-year-old Kurdish Syrian refugee who went on trial on Wednesday for a deadly knife attack in the Austrian town of Villach told the court he would kill again if he could, Austrian media attending the trial reported.
The defendant, who has not been named, was arrested immediately after killing a 14-year-old boy and wounding five other people in the southern town of Villach with a jackknife in February last year. He admits carrying out the attack and swearing allegiance to Islamic State.
The prosecution told the court in the city of Klagenfurt he underwent “lightning radicalisation” on TikTok, surprising even his own brother, media at the trial said.
Asked by the presiding judge through an interpreter whether he would commit the crime again if given the opportunity, the defendant nodded, media including national broadcaster ORF and news agency APA reported.
He has been charged with murder, attempted murder and terrorism-related offences and faces up to life in prison if convicted.
The defendant said little on the opening day of his trial, where exceptional security measures were in place, including putting him behind a protective screen. The court banned reporters from bringing electronic equipment into the courtroom.
It was the second deadly Islamist militant attack in Austria after a gunman killed four people and injured 22 others before police shot him dead in Vienna in November 2020.
The Villach trial, due to last until Thursday, coincides with that of a 21-year-old accused of planning an Islamist attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna in 2024 that was foiled at the 11th hour.
The defendant in that trial, Beran A, has pleaded guilty to charges relating to that planned attack but not to others over a separate alleged plot. A ruling in that case is also expected on Thursday.
(Reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by Gus Trompiz)
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