The Graz police prosecute seven left-wingers as a ‘criminal organisation’ after the right-wing Academics’ Ball. Three are to be deported to Germany. Their defence lawyer sees a criminalisation of anti-fascism.
In the early morning of 14 March, a shared flat in Graz was stormed by around 30 heavily armed police officers – including members of the Austrian Cobra special unit. They pointed weapons at the residents and forced a woman half-naked to the floor. She lives in a shared flat with two men who are accused of ‘aggravated robbery’ in connection with ‘criminal association’. The two are said to have ripped a fraternity member’s cap off his head after the Academic Ball in the Graz Congress building at around 3am on 25 January.
The 60-year-old fell and, according to the police, remained unconscious; the fraternity member also allegedly suffered broken ribs. In addition to the two attackers, up to five other people are said to have been involved. The investigation is being led by the State Office for State Protection and Counter Extremism.
The 70th Graz Academic Ball is one of the most traditional major social events in the university city. It is organised by right-wing and conservative student fraternities and sororities. Around 2000 people demonstrated against it on the day of the ball, with the head of the far-right Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ), Herbert Kickl, also taking part in the protest. Chants read: ‘Shoot Kickl to the moon, that’s space travel worthwhile’ or: ‘Racist, sexist, disgusting, that’s the German fraternity!’. The police protected the ball with a massive contingent, erected barriers and imposed a ban on the area.
In the past two weeks, the police have carried out seven house searches in Graz on the orders of the Public Prosecutor’s Office. Mobile phones and items of clothing were seized, but the cap stolen from the victim was not found.
Two suspects, a 23-year-old woman and a 25-year-old man, had been in custody for the offence since the beginning of March. According to media reports, the woman has ‘fully’ confessed. However, it is not known what she is supposed to have said.
Last Friday, a 29-year-old German, a 24-year-old Austrian and a 25-year-old Austrian woman were arrested. They were not remanded in custody. Two other German suspects (25 and 27 years old) were initially searched for with a European arrest warrant via Interpol. The two then voluntarily handed themselves in to the police. They were held there for two days – according to their legal representative based in Vienna, Florian Dablander, this is the maximum duration of such a detention until pre-trial detention is imposed. The authorities also exhausted the 48-hour period in the prison before a judge ordered their release.
However, the German nationals were then detained by the immigration police for a further two days – the authorities now want to decide whether to deport them. During an interrogation, the officers are said to have worn balaclavas, which is unusual for the immigration police. Dablander finds the procedure absurd overall, as the three Germans have their centre of life in Graz and have not yet made any police appearances. ‘This is obviously a tit-for-tat response to the court’s decision to release them,’ the defence lawyer told “nd”. His German clients now have to report to the criminal investigation department every seven days.
Dablander, who represents five of the seven suspects, suspects that this harsh approach is intended to force confessions to a fabricated accusation. There is said to be a surveillance video of the incident, which clearly shows that the fraternity member’s cap was taken from him without the use of force. ‘However, there is no evidence that the man was allegedly knocked over,’ says the defence lawyer. The man could also have been drunk and fallen over by himself during the incident, which is why the police’s decision not to test the alleged victim for alcohol should be interpreted in favour of his client, according to Dablander.
The defence lawyer sees the procedure as a ‘criminalisation of anti-fascism’. The harsh accusations should justify equally harsh investigative measures. ‘Aggravated robbery’, which is punishable by up to 15 years in prison, also requires an intention to enrich oneself. However, this was not the case with the fraternity member’s cap.
As the ‘Standard’ reported, citing investigation files, even the Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Austrai’s domestic secret service) assumes that the cap was stolen as a ‘trophy’. The fact that this was not done out of economic interest is also suggested by information obtained by ‘nd’ from Graz: the student cap, known in Austria as a ‘lid’, is said to have been thrown into the River Mur in the city.
With the construct of a criminal organisation – a paragraph that is otherwise used against organised crime – the authorities in Austria can order special surveillance measures and extend the investigations to the suspects’ surroundings.
This could also be the purpose of the harsh repression, Dablander surmises. In Styria, the governor is an FPÖ member. ‘You have to ask whether certain axes have formed in the security apparatus,’ says the defence lawyer, referring to possible right-wing infiltration. In any case, he said, it is obvious that political influence is being exerted in the proceedings.
Published in German in „nd“.
Image: Deep waters are still: The ‘student cap’ wanted by the Graz police is said to be found in the River Mur (Isiwal, Graz Radetzkybrücke mit Schlossberg von der Augartenbrücke-4238, CC BY-SA 4.0).
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