Man from East Styria in court: stream fall and brawl at event
A 24-year-old from East Styria must answer to charges of two assault offences at Weiz district court. The hearing was adjourned.
Two assault charges against 24-year-old at Weiz district court
As reported by Kleine Zeitung, a 24-year-old man from East Styria must answer to charges of two separate assault offences at Weiz district court. He sits alongside another accused person on the defendants' bench.
In the first incident, the defendant is alleged to have pushed a 28-year-old man at an event on the roadside, causing him to fall down a slope and into a stream. The 28-year-old suffered a bruised sternum and concussion. His recollection of the exact course of events that evening is fragmented: "How it comes about that I'm lying in the stream, I no longer know. The next memory is that I wake up in hospital."
The defendant partially admits to the push but describes it as a reaction to provocation. "I went with him to the guardrail, he knocked my cap off, pushed me, I pushed him back. He fell over the guardrail," he explained in court. According to his account, the victim did not fall directly into the stream. Witnesses observed the scuffle and subsequently provided first aid.
The second charge concerns an altercation at another event. There the 24-year-old is alleged to have come into conflict with a 19-year-old Romanian, with both men said to have injured each other. Both deny responsibility, and the accounts of those involved differ considerably.
The East Styrian states that he merely greeted a mutual acquaintance, whereupon the 19-year-old struck him in the face four times without apparent reason. When asked by the judge why the Romanian had struck him, the defendant answered: "Perhaps he felt threatened." Because of his injuries, he was off work for one week.
The 19-year-old Romanian describes the incident differently. The East Styrian had initially insulted and pushed his friend. He himself had only intervened to mediate and had repeatedly called for calm: "We're here for fun, not to fight." Only after he himself had been struck did he strike back.
Since witness statements regarding both incidents are contradictory, the hearing was adjourned to allow further witnesses to be called.
Source: Kleine Zeitung