Austrian refugee worker who was in charge of integrating eight Iraqis who gang-raped a teacher 'says the men got "false signals" from the victim'
- Eight asylum seekers convicted of raping a woman, 28, on New Year's Eve 2015
- The court heard the victim met four of the men while drinking in a bar in Vienna
- Now a refugee worker has stunned Austria by blaming woman's 'false signals'
- He also said the excessive drinking on all sides should be considered mitigation
A family of eight Iraqi asylum-seekers were convicted and jailed over the rape in Vienna on New Year's Eve 2015.
The Iraqis found the 28-year-old woman, identified only as Sabine K, in a bar and took her back to an apartment where they raped her.
The refugee aid worker, who has not been named, was supposedly helping the Iraqis integrate into Austrian society. Interviewed by Austrian media on camera, he said the men's sentences were too high.
But off camera the man - who works as a refugee guardian - went further and said the woman was to blame for giving 'false signals' to the group said the excessive alcohol consumption on all sides should have counted as mitigation.
Eight asylum seekers from the same family were found guilty of gang-raping a German tourist in Austria. Ringleader Alaa Al-J (right) and Mustafa Al-J (covering his face) are led into court during the trial. The only man to admit to his guilt was Mohammed Al-A (in the red t-shirt)
At the opening of the trial in February the court heard how she was 'blind drunk' when she went with the men to an apartment.
But prosecutors claimed she had been drugged.
Only one man, Mohamed Al-A, 31, admitted his role in the rapes and he sobbed in court as he said he was 'really drunk' on vodka at the time.
His Muslim faith may forbid him to drink alcoholic beverages, but on New Year's Eve he said he made an exception and drank vodka. 'I was really drunk,' he said, and he further admitted; 'this act is a crime in Iraq.'
Sabine was heavily traumatised by the incident and had to quit her job. She has been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder and depression.
The eight were jailed for between nine and 13 years but could not be deported to their native Iraq because it carries the death penalty for rape.
Austria is adamantly opposed to the death penalty and heavily criticised Austrian-born Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2005 when the then Governor of California executed gang leader Stanley 'Tookie' Williams.
Marwan Al-J was one of nine Iraqi men charged over the gang-rape of a German woman. Eight of the men were convicted
Another refugee guardian, Ahmed Salam, who helps newcomers to settle in the city of Innsbruck, said he was shocked by the man's remarks and said: 'The refugee guardians play a big role. They are like the teachers in a school.'
He said: 'There are lots of people who have never experienced living in an open society. They come with questions - if the women here are totally open and if they can go out and drink coffee with women.'
Mr Salam said he always told them they can go out and drink a coffee to get to know a woman but must 'show respect and keep their distance'.
One of the accused, Mohammed Al-T, arrived in court covering his face and looked to the ground as he was led in to court for an earlier appearance
The victim has been awarded 25,000 euros in damages.
Most of the men had denied the charges but DNA from six of them was found in or on the victim's body.
The court heard how the victim arrived in Vienna on December 28, 2015 to spend the New Year with a female friend in the city. Shortly before midnight on December 31 they wandered into the city centre to join crowds celebrating the arrival of 2016 and at 2am were seen drinking in a bar-restaurant called Cactus.
Shortly before 3am Sabine's friend noticed she was no longer there and was told by another patron that the men she had been talking with had 'taken her away.'
Mohamed Al-A, co-defendants Nazar Al-J, Mohammed Al-T and Alaa Al-J were in the Cactus bar and took the victim back to the apartment, where the other defendants - Hader Al-A, Mustafa Al-J, Nael Al-J and Marwan Al-J lay in wait.
The defendants, aged between 22 and 45, all arrived in Austria between May and December 2015 via the Balkan route.
At the time of the attack, five of them had cemented their right to stay, the applications of the other four were still pending.
Judge Petra Poschalko heard how the woman was taken by four of them to an apartment in Vienna's Rustenschacher Allee, where more men were waiting.
Sabine later said she found herself naked on a double bed being assaulted by the men one after the other.
The Iraqi nationals had gone on trial in the Austrian capital Vienna (file picture) accused of the New Year's Eve 2015 attack on the 28-year-old teacher
Her lawyer Karina Fehringer told the court her client was assaulted in the dark so she could not identify the men.
After the attacks, which went on for several hours, the victim needed in-patient treatment at a trauma clinic and now is under psychiatric care for post traumatic stress disorder.
She had a breakdown before the trial and was too fragile to be in court to face her attackers.
Another defendant, Sabah Al-J, was acquitted after claiming his diabetes made him impotent.
Medical experts testified the woman was raped multiple times and sodomised. The victim said she yelled at them, in German: 'No, I don't want this.' Then in English: 'Listen to me, just a little bit.'
Alaa Al-J. was said to be the ringleader. After it was over Mohammed Al-A escorted her to a toilet in the flat where he took a selfie with her on his mobile phone.
Later he and Alaa Al-J escorted her to a nearby tram stop where they tried to stem her sobbing by saying in English: 'Don't cry.'
After she went to police, a tracking app on her mobile phone led officers to the rape scene. The app showed her ordeal lasted from 4.20am to 6.20am on January 1 2016.
The court heard that with the exception of the man who confessed, none of the others had shown remorse.
Several denied rape even in the face of the DNA evidence. One man claimed the woman had been 'offered' to them by relatives: another that she was a willing participant in whatever took place.
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