Austria: Mother of a victim of a terrorist attack seeks justice

More than six months since the terrorist attack in on the night of November 2 in the center of the Austrian capital, with four dead and 23 injured, many of them seriously, the mother of the young woman who fell dead from the shots of the perpetrator is appealing to justice against the Republic of Austria.

According to the Austrian newspaper “Der Standard”, the Vienna Regional Court of Civil Affairs is called to consider in mid-May the lawsuit filed by the victim’s mother against the Austrian state, believing that the attack could have been avoided.

The lawsuit has already been answered by the Republic of Austria, which denies guilt and irregular behavior on the part of the state authorities, from which, as it is emphasized, according to the available information, the right actions had been taken at that time.

The trial will also consider the amount of financial compensation due to mental pain to the plaintiff, to whom an amount of 2,000 euros has already been paid, but she claims 80,000 euros, because, in her view, after the attack she suffers from depression for which she needs treatment, while being severely damaged by heavy mourning.

In addition, there must be a so-called declaration of intent, as “there will most likely be subsequent and permanent consequences” of the attack, as emphasized in the lawsuit, and for this another 20,000 euros are required, while if the funeral expenses are taken into account, which must be undertaken by the Republic of Austria, then the total claim for compensation amounts to 125,000 euros.

For his part, Reinhold ‘Einwalner, the security chief of Austria’ s main opposition Social Democrat party, said in a statement today that “democracy must not abdicate its responsibility”.

Her 20-year-old perpetrator terrorist attack with an Islamist background on the evening of November 2, in the center of Vienna, left behind four dead and 23 wounded, while he was killed by police fire.

At the end of last February, the mayor and local governor of the city and state of Vienna, Michael Ludwig, had made the placards in the Dessinter-Friedman Square, which was one of the sites of the terrorist attack. “In memory of the victims of the terrorist attack on November 2, 2020”.

The terrorist attack, according to experts, was a severe blow to the sense of security of people living in the Austrian capital, which, for almost decades, remained “untouched” by such strikes.

However, it was rather unlikely that Austria would remain an “Island of the Blessed” forever, as the country was characterized during the time of its historic chancellor, Bruno Krajski, who ruled between 1970 and 1983.

“Someone often had the feeling that some things were happening in other big cities, but not in Vienna,” Thomas Rigler, a well-known terrorism expert, said in a recent analysis.