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POLICE

Austrian man jailed for gruesome killing of girlfriend

An Austrian man was sentenced to life imprisonment on Friday in Vienna for the brutal murder of his girlfriend in March, in a case that shocked the country.

A police car in Austria. Photo: JOE KLAMAR / AFP
A police car in Austria. Photo: JOE KLAMAR / AFP

The 47-year-old will be sent to an institution for mentally abnormal criminals. The 35-year-old victim was beaten, strangled and then set on fire in a tobacconist’s store she ran in Vienna.

The murderer showed little remorse over the course of the trial, at one point saying: “She brought me that far, I didn’t want to do it.”

Prosecutors pointed to the fact that the murderer drove to the site with bottles of petrol in his car as proof the crime was premeditated. The victim was known to have complained about her boyfriend’s “pathological jealousy” just days before the attack.

She was rescued alive from the burning store by two passersby who noticed the fire and rammed the door open with a shopping trolley from a neighbouring supermarket.

The victim was in intensive care for four weeks before succumbing to her injuries. According to medical expert Christian Reiter, 75 percent of the woman’s skin had severe burns.

READ MORE: Outrage in Austria over ninth woman murdered in 2021

“There’s virtually no chance that someone could survive this,” Reiter told the court, adding that the woman would have been in “excruciating pain” until she died.

A court-appointed psychiatrist described the murderer as “totally devoid of empathy” and exhibiting a “pronounced narcissism”.

During the trial the court had been played a harrowing video of the crime, reconstructed from the shop’s CCTV camera. The victim’s family, who had been in attendance, left while the video was played.

The killing is just one of several high profile murders of women and girls, often at the hands of partners or ex-partners, which have led to heightened debate on how to combat femicide.

The government has pledged several measures to try to address the problem, including increased funding for organisations helping victims of violence.

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CRIME

Austria detains suspected Islamists amid security fears

Authorities in Austria have detained three people amid concerns over calls for terror attacks on December 24th.

Austria detains suspected Islamists amid security fears

Austria on Sunday said three people were detained for suspected involvement in an “Islamist network”, as Vienna and Cologne step up police controls citing heightened security concerns during Christmas.

German police are carrying out strict controls at the entry of the cathedral in the western city of Cologne following a “danger warning” for New Year’s Eve.

Austrian police have also stepped up checks, especially around churches, religious events and Christmas markets in Vienna, citing an “increased risk”.

Austrian authorities “intervening in an Islamist network” made four arrests Saturday, the interior ministry said Sunday.

A ministry spokesman said of the four, three had been detained pending further investigations.

“There was no immediate threat of an attack in Vienna,” he told AFP, declining to comment further.

According to the German daily Bild, one arrest was also made in Germany.

The arrested suspects are said to be Tajiks who allegedly wanted to carry out attacks for Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K), an IS offshoot in Afghanistan, Bild reported.

“Terrorist actors across Europe are calling for attacks on Christian events — especially around December 24th,” Vienna police said in a statement.

Besides Austria and Germany, Spain also received indications that an Islamist group was planning several attacks in Europe, possibly on New Year’s Eve and Christmas, Bild said.

According to the newspaper, the targets of these attacks could be Christmas masses in Cologne, Vienna and Madrid.

In July, a cell of suspected Islamists from IS-K was dismantled in Germany and the Netherlands.

Those arrested in Germany were said at the time to have been planning an attack in the country.

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