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Austria bans Isis terror symbols

Following closely on the heels of Germany, Austria has announced a forthcoming ban on terrorism-related symbols, specifically starting with the Isis flag, reported the Austrian Press Agency (APA) on Friday evening. [Updated to reflect comments from HC Strache over the weekend.]

Published: 12 September 2014 23:44 CEST
Austria bans Isis terror symbols
Fighters from Isis near the border between Syria and Iraq. Photo: EPA/ALBARAKA NEWS/HANDOUT

The wearing of symbols of the terror group "Islamic State" (IS) should be banned soon, reports the newspaper Wiener Zeitung.

A final agreement is not confirmed said a representative of the Interior Ministry on Friday night, but it would be ready by early next week.  The government has agreed on an appropriate amendment to the Abzeichengesetz  (Badge Law) of 1960  – which outlaws Nazi symbols, flags, uniforms and insignia from banned organizations – with the only matter remaining to be settled being the range of sentencing options for the courts.

A spokesman for Interior Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner of the conservative Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) was unable to be specific about details of the changes, but suggested they were on a "good path."

According to the spokesman, only minor changes should be needed to the Badges Act.  No general prohibition of Isis was necessary, because existing laws would be sufficient.  

Early next week, tougher measures against suspected jihadists are expected to be announced at a press conference that will include Mikl-Leitner, Justice Minister Wolfgang Brandstetter, Vice Chancellor Reinhold Mitterlehner and Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz.

It's entirely possible that next's weeks press conference may discuss the possibility of withdrawing citizenship or asylum status from returned jihadists, as is proposed by countries like Denmark.

Earlier on Friday, Germany announced a similar ban on Isis and its symbols.

Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) leader Heinz-Christian Strache wants the jihadist terrorist militia "Islamic State" (IS) completely banned in Austria. In an interview with the newspaper "Österreich" (Sunday edition) the party leader calls for "forceful action" – a "clamping down on any radical Islamist institutions which call for a holy war, the introduction of Sharia law, or any other similar delusions." 
 
Strache also announced he wants to make "radical Islamism" a key subject of the election campaign in Vienna in 2015. "There is a burning issue to which we have drawn attention for years, for which we were reprimanded by political opponents. Now the reality is there for all to see", he said.

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TERRORISM

What is the risk of new terror attacks in Austria?

Following the March 22nd attack in Moscow’s Crocus City Hall that left over 140 dead, European governments are evaluating the threat of terror attacks. Is Austria a target for fresh terrorist attacks?

Published: 28 March 2024 12:32 CET
What is the risk of new terror attacks in Austria?

With responsibility for the Moscow attack being taken by the Islamist terror organisation ISIS-K, national intelligence services are reevaluating the threat posed to targets within their borders. 

‘No concrete threat’

Austrian officials have been quick to give their appraisal of the situation. 

“We currently have the Islamist scene under control,” stressed Omar Haijawi-Pirchner, head of the Directorate of State Security & Intelligence (DSN) – the governmental agency responsible for combatting internal threats – in an interview with the Ö1 Morgenjournal radio programme on Tuesday. 

He continued: “The terrorist attacks in Moscow, for example, definitely increase the risk. But at the moment, we do not see any concrete threat of an attack in Austria,”

Other experts and officials have warned that while there are no concrete threats, Austrians should not be complacent. 

‘Situation is still valid’ 

Interior Minister Gerhard Karner announced tighter security at church festivals during the Easter period, in the days after the attack, and stressed that the high terror alert level introduced after the October 7 Hamas attacks was still in place. 

“This increased risk situation is still valid,” noted Karner.

READ MORE: What does Austria’s raised terror alert mean for the public?

Meanwhile, terror researcher Peter Neumann of King’s College London told ORF’s ‘ZiB 2’ news broadcast on Monday that Austria remains a potential target due to its Central Asian migrant population. 

Neumann noted that countries at most risk are those “in which Tajik and Central Asian diasporas exist and where ISIS-K finds it relatively easy to identify and recruit people”. 

He continued, identifying both Austria and Germany as “countries in which the ISPK is particularly active and which are particularly at risk from terrorist attacks”.

New threats

Austria has not been spared from attacks from homegrown terrorists.

On November 2nd 2020, amid Coronavirus lockdowns, Austrian-born Kujtim Fejzulai shot and killed four, injuring twenty-three others during a shooting spree across Vienna. He was ultimately shot dead by police. 

Fejzulai was already under surveillance by federal authorities for his beliefs and had been released from prison on parole less than a year before. 

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