Prison Sentences for Two Islamists

UNCLAS VIENNA 000367

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/AGS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER AU
SUBJECT: Prison Sentences for Two Islamists


1. The Vienna criminal court on March 12 sentenced Egyptian-born
Mohamed Mahmoud to four years in prison and his wife, Mona S., to 22
months on charges of membership in a terrorist organization and
coercion of the government. The couple had produced an internet
video threatening the Austrian and German governments with violence
unless they withdrew militarily from Afghanistan. The video, signed
"Global Islamic Media Front (GIMF)," was posted in the Internet in
March 2007. According to the verdict, the GIMF was to be considered
the propaganda branch of Al-Qaeda. In internet fora, Mohamed
Mahmoud, 22, had also discussed terrorist attacks during the
European soccer championship in Austria in June 2008.


2. The presiding judge had Mona S., 21, removed from the courtroom
since she refused to take off her burqa. The court argued that the
jury could not judge her credibility without seeing her face,
marking the first time an Austrian court had made such a ruling. In
the verdict, the court determined that the sentence for Mona S.
should not be suspended - though her only role in the crime was to
translate the message into German - because both she and her husband
had acted based on strong convictions.


3. The verdict was the first ruling based on the offense of
"membership in a terrorist organization," which was introduced to
the Austrian Criminal Code after 9/11. It was also the first time
that a court admitted evidence gained from recently enacted police
powers allowing broader authority for internet surveillance.
Mohamed Mahmoud's attorney sharply criticized the verdict as based
on "illegal online surveillance." The couple asked for time to
consider the verdict before deciding on whether to appeal. KILNER