Trial of the Wasserpark attack in Vienna: victims no longer remember their attackers

The context of the November 19, 2025 attack

During the hearing, an 18-year-old young man, injured in the left thigh after being held to the ground and struck by four masked men armed with brass knuckles according to his initial statements, retracted his earlier testimony. "Ich weiß nicht, wer genau mich verletzt hat", he stated. Confronted with his previous statements, he explained: "Ich war damals verängstigt und war in Schock", while adding that he is today "sicher, dass ich nicht mehr alle erkenne".

The presiding judge explicitly asked the witnesses whether they had been threatened or put under pressure before the hearing, a question raised by the change in the plaintiffs' versions of events. Another 18-year-old witness allegedly claimed to have seen only three of the ten defendants in the park.

The victims facing their memories

On the origins of the case, the indictment mentions a prior "Ehrverletzung" between one of the victims and the alleged leader of a Syrian group, known to the defendants through his videos regularly posted on TikTok. The prosecution contends that this man, via a group chat, called on his acquaintances to come armed to Floridsdorf on November 19 at 5 p.m. A phrase attributed to one of the participants allegedly was: "das außerhalb des Gerichts ausmachen", suggesting that a knife was hidden nearby.

The prosecution reportedly has in its possession the images from a surveillance camera at the Wiener Wasserpark showing, according to the court's description, the unfolding of the scene. The main victim, who believed it would be a peaceful discussion, had been summoned to the park's skatepark at 5:30 p.m., while the attack allegedly began at 6 p.m. on November 19, 2025.

Twenty suspects still on the run

The remaining suspects could not be identified. According to the victims' statements, the attacking group allegedly numbered between 20 and 30 men, of whom 20 are still on the run. "Der Rest der Täter bzw. Tatverdächtigen konnte bisher nicht ausgeforscht werden", according to the prosecution. Some defendants for their part claim to have gone to the scene out of simple curiosity after hearing about a "Problem".

The judicial schedule

Outside courtroom 312 of the Landesgericht für Strafsachen, approximately thirty young men — friends and relatives of the ten defendants — were waiting for the hearing to begin. The public present at the hearing must follow the proceedings during the sessions scheduled until the end of July, with the trial calendar extending until that deadline.

The defense is relying heavily on the confused statements of the victims to contest the individual involvement of each defendant. One of the witnesses told the court: "Ich kenne keinen Einzigen von denen". The 18-year-old young man also indicated that, from the first blow received to the face, he had become so dizzy that he "nicht richtig bemerkt habe, was abgeht" — a formulation which, according to the defense, undermines the reliability of his earlier identifications.

The verdict and any sentences are not expected before the end of July, in accordance with the schedule set by the court. The trial must still establish individual responsibilities, while the prosecution maintains its criminal qualifications, including that of attempted murder targeting the youngest defendant.