Austria: 3 Afghan Men Convicted of Rape & Murder of 13-Year-old Leonie
13th December 2022
A district court in Vienna has convicted three adult males from Afghanistan of having raped and murdered a 13-year-old girl from Bavaria named Leonie, bringing an end to a case that brought immense grief and rage to the hearts of many far beyond Austria.
While the primary defendant, 24-year-old Zubaidullah R., was found guilty of rape and murder and sentenced to life in prison, the two co-defendants, 20-year-old Ali H. and 19-year-old Ibraulhaq A., were found guilty of murder by omission for failing to call emergency services after Leonie overdosed on the drugs that had been administered to her. The two were sentenced to 19 and 20 years, respectively, the Vienna-based newspaper Der Standard reports.
According to the indictment, the young girl, who was at the house of one of the suspects one night in June 2021, was given a drink with at least six ecstasy pills, causing her to overdose. While Leonie was incapacitated—and dying from an overdose—the three men raped her and filmed her agony. When it was clear that she had passed away, the perpetrators dumped her body on a grass verge on the side of a road in a residential area of Vienna. She was found with bruises around her neck, wearing only her underwear, and leaning against a tree.
Wherever you go,
Whatever you do,
A Muslim waits there
To try to kill you.