In a courtroom in Vienna’s”Landl district, a judge presented disturbing video evidence against five young mostly migrant defendants accused of a series of violent crimes and humiliations. The footage, recorded in September 2025 in a Kagran park, captured a 16-year-old victim with fear-filled eyes being forced to take turns kissing the feet and hands of his tormentor right before they severely beat him.
The humiliation was followed by an “explosion of violence” in which the perpetrator knocked the victim down and continued a brutal assault. The clip was later uploaded to Snapchat, accompanied by Arabic music, smileys, and the triumphant caption: “I broke his nose…, so awesome.“
The 15-year-old main defendant, standing alongside Iraqi, Romanian, and Austrian co-defendants, offered a blunt justification for the coercion and physical harm, according to Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung.
“I just wanted to protect my friend, but he gave a cheeky answer,” said the defendant.
🇩🇪🔴Germany: A young boy on a bike was surrounded and beaten by youths with a migrant background.
One boy, Yassar, slaps the victim, punches him, and screams, "Cry!"
The new reality for German youth.
Remix News has blurred the young victim's face. pic.twitter.com/bRRnPvzTVN
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) September 23, 2025The presiding judge expressed perplexity at this line of reasoning, asking who he was trying to protect. The charges include serious robbery, bodily harm, and at least one incident involving a knife.
The court heard that the group’s violence was not limited to their peers. In one instance, a random adult victim was so severely beaten that he suffered multiple fractures to his facial skull and lost four teeth.
During the trial, the first defendant attempted to make amends by handing over €2,800 in damages. In contrast to the severity of the injuries inflicted, the loot in another robbery mentioned in the indictment amounted to a mere €15.
While four of the five defendants had been held in pre-trial detention, the trial concluded with varying degrees of leniency. Two defendants received suspended sentnces..Another three received partial prison sentences.
The 15-year-old perpetrator behind the foot-kissing video was sentenced to 15 months in prison, with 12 of those months suspended.
The sentences are currently not final.
The case highlights the role of migrant violence in Austria, which has been a serious problem for authorities. School administrators, teachers, and activists speak of a crisis in the school system and also on the streets.
Last year, the Austria’s Freedom Party (FPÖ) demanded the immediate deportation of five migrant-background students following a shocking case of prolonged school violence at the HTL Vöcklabruck in Upper Austria.
The party says the brutal abuse of a 15-year-old boy over several months by five older classmates — all aged 20 and reportedly of Afghan, Turkish, and Albanian origin — represents “systematic abuse” and a failure of the state to protect its citizens, in particular minors in Austrian schools.
“What happened at an Upper Austrian school is not a triviality, but systematic abuse,” said FPÖ education spokesman Hermann Brückl. “This is pure violence.” He condemned the initial handling of the case by school staff, particularly the German teacher who reportedly assigned the perpetrators to write an essay on violence as punishment. “Instead of justice for the affected student, an essay was decreed,” Brückl added.
“If it turns out that the migrant perpetrators of violence do not have Austrian citizenship, they must be sent back to their country of origin,” he declared.
