Hitler Gru at the awards ceremony: one year for cyclists

Hitler Gru at the awards ceremony: one year for cyclists

The amateur cyclist WELS.En, who stretched out his right arm for Hitler Gru during the awards ceremonies, was sentenced Thursday in Wels State Court for a new prison term of imprisonment. one year and 3,000 euros fine.

Landesgericht Wels Picture: Wodicka

At 79, he declared himself innocent. He raised his arm to indicate his wound in his hand. The judgment is not final.

The athlete has been hit with the Nazi party on five occasions since 2012, which is why he is now charged with violating the 3g Prohibition Act. In three cases, the jury pleaded guilty unanimously; in the other case, there was an acquittal with eight votes to none or five votes to three. Due to the verdict of the jury, the court sentenced him to one year of suspended imprisonment. There was a "manageable monetary sanction" in the amount of 3,000 euros, as the judge said.

Immediately after the verdict, the accused announces three days of reflection and stretches three fingers up to the level of the raised hand. The prosecution did not make any statement.

Mayor introduced athletes

At the fifth Austria Top Tour gala at Schloss Mondsee, the incident last year was unearthed, which led to the judicial epilogue, reported the ON. National Day marked the completion of a series of amateur cycling marathons. The accused won in the age group of 75 plus the final victory. At the ceremony, he then tore his right hand stretched to the height. The mayor of Mondseer, Karl Feurhuber (vice president) and a lawyer, both eyewitnesses, said the athlete. As the survey showed, the amateur cyclist has shown it since 2012 several times during awards ceremonies. Until the incident last year, however, his behavior had no criminal consequences.

A report against the moderator of the Mondsee Gala, which allegedly downplayed the Nazi-Gru mutmalichen, was also reported. The case was engaged against him.

"The hand stretched with joy in the height"

The cyclist, however, had to go to court on Thursday and presented the jury with a strong attorney "an incredible protection claim". He has been on the road since 1958, having built 82 crashes since and scored 700 victories. For this reason, he had stretched his right hand repeatedly for the joy of height. Because of his broken shoulder, he could no longer stretch out his arm, which is why his gesture could have been misinterpreted.

For the prosecutor, there was no doubt that the historian showed "sympathy for the Third Reich". He posted the corresponding comments on the Internet. During a search, in a room, a sticker on a library mentioning the Reichsschrifttumskammer "Reading makes stupid and violent" was discovered. It was a memory of his dead son, the accused is justified, which caused astonishment in the audience room.

"A weird old man"

Anyone who regrets the Nazi period "should be a fool", he distances himself. Twice a week, at the age of five, he had to go to the air raid shelters and there were "dead citizens" all over the street. At the request of the judge, while he represents the Holocaust, he responded only the third time: "absolute absurdity". And "nonsense" it "does not question anything because I have no proof," said the former historian.

The athlete was relieved by a colleague. He called him "a weird old man who makes every theater performance ceremony a play". Sometimes he appears with a hiss, sometimes with a horn.

For the lawyer, who put the deal in motion with the announcement, the gesture was "clearly a Hitler Gru". Due to the size of the prize, the gala – of which he was one – was invited. The organizer has also seen this this way. One day after the awards ceremony, the amateur athlete learned that he had been deprived of victory. In addition, the organization Austria Top Tour has sentenced him to a ban on leaving for life.

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