A jury found the accused guilty of smuggling and fatal assault – but not of murder.
The 19-year-old smuggler, in whose small truck two dead refugees were found last October on the Austro-Hungarian border near Siegendorf (Eisenstadt-Surroundings district), was sentenced to seven years in prison by the Eisenstadt regional court on Monday. A jury found him guilty of smuggling and causing fatal bodily harm – but denied the charge of murder.
Against this background, the Latvian’s statements were considered a confession, said judge Gabriele Nemeskeri. He had pleaded guilty to smuggling, but not to murder – although he admitted that he knew that the 30 refugees he had locked in the hold for regarding eight hours without a break were not doing well. The defendant accepted the verdict. The prosecutor’s office gave no explanation. So it is not yet final.
(APA)
