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The attackers didn't know rape was illegal insisting women are treated differently in Afghanistan

The teenagers, two of whom are aged 17 and 16, subjected their victim to "extreme brutality." However, they were given sentences of just six and five years respectively after the attack on the exchange student last April. The men stalked the innocent victim after following her to a public toilet in Praterstern Railway Station in the Austrian capital of Vienna, near the city's historic Prater Park.


The court heard the teenagers followed her into a cubicle, knocked her to the floor, held her mouth and nose shut before battering her head on the toilet several times as she tried to fight back. The young woman was then raped several times by all three men. Her injuries included bruising, signs of strangulation and bleeding.

GETTY The men were jailed following a trial in Vienna

Prosecutor Katharina Stauber said: "They were waiting for an appropriate victim. They followed the young woman and brutally abused her. "She thought she would suffocate. "The psychological consequences are more serious." While another prosecutor Sonja Aziz added: "Since the incident, she can no longer tolerate the proximity of other people.


GETTY The attack took place near the famous Prater Park

"She has a sleeping disorder, feels like an empty robot, avoids men's company and cannot study anymore. "She cannot talk to anyone about it. The worst thing is that she has lost basic trust in people." Prosecutors read a victim statement it read: "Sometimes there are moments when I do not feel like I am still alive. I could not look in the mirror for three months. I feel like a waste. "I remember the sight of these men. "I have not done anything to anyone. Why am I punished? "My joy of living is gone. "I have aged years. "I counted the seconds until it ended. I thought I would die there." At the time all three of the teens were under the care of the state because they had travelled to the country as unaccompanied minors. They admitted to the horrific attack which they claimed happened after they had drunk alcohol.

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