|
Wrongly Convicted Database Record
|
Charge: |
Public Indecency |
Sentence: |
€70 (US$75) |
Years Imprisoned: |
|
Year Crime: |
2016 |
Year Convicted: |
2016 |
Year Cleared: |
2017 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Austria |
County or Region of Crime: |
|
City of Crime: |
Vienna |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Edin Mehic was wrongly convicted in February 2016 of violating public decency for breaching the peace in Vienna, Austria. Mehic's prosecution was based on him loudly belching when he was standing near a police officer in Vienna's Prater Park on February 7, 2016. Mehic, 27, was a bartender in Vienna. At the time of his apprehension he told the police officer he had recently eaten a kebab, and asked the police officer, "why he wasn’t picking up real criminals" in the park who were obviously consuming and selling illegal drugs. Mehic was found guilty and fined €70 (US$75). Mehic's case received much publicity in Austria and Turkey, and the international kebab chain Kasap Doner that is based in Turkey paid Mehic's fine, and invited him to visit Istanbul with all-expenses paid. On April 7th a "flash mob" of several hundred people congregated in Prater Park, and standing next to police officers in the park they burbed in unison. Mehic appealed his conviction, arguing that he involuntarily burbed after he quickly ate a Turkish Kebabkette (kebab) that was spicy with a lot onion. On April 18, 2017 Mehic's conviction was overturned by a judge in Vienna on the basis Mehic's unintentional belch didn't constitute a breach of the peace under the public decency law. In commenting about his burb, Mehic wrote on his Facebook page, "Quite honestly, this was a normal burglar, not the mating cry of an elk." Mehic's lawyer, Heinz Robathin, told a reporter for the Daily Mail (London) that "It's all a question of perspective'. If my client had done it in the opera or theatre, I could probably understand somebody complaining. 'But not in the Praterstern, where there are drug dealers and other people of a dubious character on a daily basis. People burping a hardly rare there. This is such an abuse of police authority that it borders on misconduct."" |
Conviction Caused By: |
|
Innocence Proved By: |
"On April 18, 2017 Mehic's conviction was overturned by a judge in Vienna." |
Defendant Aided By: |
|
Compensation Awarded: |
|
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
|
Age When Imprisoned: |
|
Age When Released: |
|
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
|
Information Source 1: |
"Court overturns Austrian's conviction for belching near police officer, By Staff and agencies, The Guardian (London), April 21, 2017" |
Information Location 1: |
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/21/austria-belch-conviction-overturned |
Information Source 2: |
"Vienna police fine man €70 for 'loud belch', By Staff and agencies, The Guardian (London), February 22, 2016" |
Information Location 2: |
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/23/vienna-police-fine-man-70-for-loud-belch |
Information Source 3: |
"Edin Mehic (Vienna, Austria), Facebook page" |
Information Location 3: |
https://www.facebook.com/edin.mehic.731?lst=100000075184235%3A690956891%3A1493062439 |
Information Source 4: |
"Man is fined by police for belching loudly while he ate a kebab in Vienna - and blames it on 'too many onions', By Corey Charlton (for Mailonline), Daily Mail (London), February 23, 2016" |
Information Location 4: |
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3460187/Man-fined-police-belching-loudly-ate-kebab-Vienna-blames-onions.html |
Information Source 5: |
|
Information Location 5: |
|
Book About Case: |
|
Book Information: |
|
Book About Case (2): |
|
Book Information (2): |
|
Movie About Case: |
|
Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org