Nine hours of trial: Wangen sentences threatener to nine months!

Nine hours of trial: Wangen sentences threatener to nine months!

A 37-year-old Afghan man was convicted of several crimes at the Wangen district court. The hearing lasted a total of nine hours and included numerous interruptions. The defendant faced serious charges including assault, threats, insults and trespassing. The basis for the charges included in particular an incident in which the defendant made masked threats to witnesses in the fall of 2024, displayed a knife and hit his own head. This threatening situation meant that the witnesses have been very afraid ever since.

Despite the seriousness of the allegations, the statements of the two witnesses turned out to be inaccurate and sometimes contradictory. In particular, the accusation of threatened rape could not be substantiated. In another incident that occurred in September 2023, the defendant pulled a chair over the head of a roommate, resulting in a laceration that required stitches. The defendant claimed in his defense that he acted in self-defense in this case.

Conflicts in the town hall and a witness in hiding

Another incriminating incident occurred in the town hall, where the defendant was banned from entering, but still threatened and tried to hit an employee. An interpreter was able to prevent the blow. During the hearing, the court heard that a witness who was also supposed to testify about an incident went into hiding and may have fled to his home country because there was an arrest warrant against him.

The public prosecutor's office demanded a prison sentence of one year and four months without parole. The defendant's defense attorney pointed out the many contradictory statements from the witnesses and emphasized that the defendant had already spent four months in custody.

Judgment and legal basis

The court finally decided and sentenced the defendant to a prison sentence of nine months without parole, with the time spent in custody being taken into account. Juraforum informs that threats according to Section 241 of the Criminal Code can have criminal consequences. Threats that force someone to take certain actions can also be punishable. The investigation and legal assessment of the threats reflect the seriousness and danger posed by such acts and the associated penalties, if convicted, may include fines or imprisonment of up to one year.

The present hearing illustrates the complexity of threats from a legal perspective. The assessment of the danger and the seriousness of the threats depend largely on the perception of the threatened people. This is also highlighted by cases where statements have been interpreted as insignificant or as “boastful speech”, which can influence the legal consequences.

Overall, this case shows how important accurate evidence and evaluation of witness statements are in court proceedings in order to reach a fair verdict.