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Five young men allegedly cut the fiber optic cable network in Rheinfelden AG several times.
Symbolbild: sda
On the evening of the first day of the trial at the Rheinfelden AG district court in the case against a group of men from Aargau, questioning took place after all. The defendants had to answer for alleged fiber optic sabotage and disruption of public transport.
The three main defendants admitted to cutting fiber optic cables at two locations in Rheinfelden in the canton of Aargau at the end of December 2023 or to directing the action from a distance. Thousands of customers were subsequently offline.
The fourth defendant stated in court that he was not part of the operation. However, two defendants testified that the second defendant was involved.
In addition to the adrenaline rush, the defendants gave the confirmation within the group of friends as the reason. The defendant who allegedly cut the cable also testified that he had done so in order to provide an alibi for the two other main defendants. These two were on vacation at the time and had already cut fiber optic cables beforehand.
In September 2023, the group is also alleged to have placed two train shoes on railroad tracks between Möhlin and Rheinfelden, thereby causing trains to derail. All four defendants admitted to being involved in the operation. However, the idea was to slow down or stop the trains, which is what happened. Once again, the group gave the adrenaline rush as the reason.
None of the group had expected a train to derail. All four said this in unison. "I would never have taken part if I had known that people could be in danger," explained one of the main defendants. "Even I would have dropped out."
Another said he was glad nothing had happened. The co-defendant stated in court that he was disgusted with himself after the action. The other defendants also showed remorse.
However, the defendants disagreed as to who had worn the inhibition shoes and attached them to the tracks.
The fifth defendant, who is only charged with one offense, was taciturn on the first day of the trial. He is alleged to have driven the car in a sneak-in theft in August 2023. However, the defendant refused to testify.
The trial lasted until shortly before 8 p.m. on Monday. This was because the lawyer for one of the main defendants spoke for more than three hours in the morning on the subject of preliminary remarks. Among other things, he criticized the presentation of evidence by the public prosecutor's office and the cantonal police. Both authorities had manipulated or deleted evidence. The public prosecutor's office clearly rejected all accusations.
There is great interest in the court case. This is why the seven to eight-day trial is being held in the hall of the fire station in Rheinfelden and not in the court building.
One of the main defendants appeared in court wearing a cap, sunglasses and a face mask. He and another young man wore ankle cuffs and handcuffs and were accompanied by several police officers. One of the two main defendants is in early release and one is in preventive detention.
The group, which called itself the "wolf pack" in its WhatsApp chat, is said to have committed numerous other crimes. The public prosecutor's office is also accusing the men of cyber attacks, commercial and gang-related theft as well as multiple arson attempts and multiple attempts at extortion.
The group is said to have stolen around CHF 50,000 and caused property damage of CHF 400,000. All the men are now between 20 and 21 years old.
According to the public prosecutor's office, the investigation did not reveal any political or extremist motives. It was a case of "self-reinforcing group dynamics".
The trial continues on Wednesday.
27.04.2026, 22:51
