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Austrian police announce arrests in connection to the Linz Halloween riots

After 129 interrogations, police in Austria identified three 'leaders' responsible for the protests and violence in the city of Linz over Halloween - there were threats of further riots on New Year's Eve.

Published: 27 December 2022 16:22 CET
Austrian police announce arrests in connection to the Linz Halloween riots
Pictured is the Austrian city of Linz at night. On September 15th, several government buildings in Linz will go dark for 'Earth Night' (Photo by Alain Bonnardeaux on Unsplash)

On Tuesday morning, the Upper Austrian police and the Linz public prosecutor’s office presented further details about the Halloween riots in downtown Linz. 

According to regional police director Andreas Pilsl, after 129 interrogations, “a core of 20 people could be filtered out”. Among them were three “ringleaders”: “a 21-year-old Syrian with asylum status, a 17-year-old North Macedonian and a 19-year-old Spaniard”.

Two people are currently detained, according to the spokeswoman for the Linz public prosecutor’s office, Ulrike Breiteneder. 

“Specifically, the 21-year-old and the 19-year-old. Both are accused of grievous bodily harm and common endangerment.” 

A 17-year-old allegedly responsible for the Tiktok video “Tomorrow Linz will become Athena” – the actual call to participate in the riots – has been charged at large. “At present, however, it cannot be ruled out that further arrests could follow. The investigation is ongoing”, the authorities said.

The Linz Halloween riots

On Halloween evening, October 31st, around 200 took downtown Linz streets on a rampage, damaging storefront windows and attacking unrelated groups of people with stones and even firecrackers. 

One thing that draws attention to the episode – other than the unexpected violence – is that many of the people involved were not Austrian citizens. In a country where immigration is always a contentious issue, this issue was bound to make the headlines.

The other point that ensured the riots would stay in the headlines for a while was how they came to happen. 

READ MORE: EXPLAINED: What happened at the Linz Halloween riots? 

According to the authorities, the initial evaluation is that the event was unorganised and the rioters had no clear structure. Instead, it was more likely “a loose gathering of young people who had joined forces via social media”.

Additionally, most of the participants were young men.

The police are still piecing together everything that happened two days after the riots. On social media, there are calls for further rioting (on New Year’s Eve), and xenophobic and racist comments as well, with many blaming asylum seekers and migrants for the events. 

What will happen on New Year’s Eve?

On social media, some young people around Linz had already said they wanted to repeat the riots on New Year’s Eve. A house search in one of the suspects’ homes, the 19-year-old Spanish man, turned up dozens of illegal firework devices. 

The police said they were sufficiently prepared for New Year’s Eve. “The entire standby unit will be on duty,” Landespolizeidirektor Andreas Pilsl noted, “we are relying on overlapping forces.” 

READ ALSO: IN NUMBERS: Who are the asylum seekers trying to settle in Austria?

At present, he said, 1,246 checks had already been carried out on the northern border to prevent explosive devices from being brought in. This would be stepped up by New Year’s Eve, he added. 

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CRIME

When are police officers in Austria allowed to use their weapons?

Recent police operations have ended up in the shooting - and death- of suspects. What are the rules and guidelines Austrian police officers have to follow?

Published: 21 June 2024 14:30 CEST
When are police officers in Austria allowed to use their weapons?

Austrian police officers, like their counterparts in many countries, are equipped with firearms as part of their law enforcement duties. However, the use of these weapons is strictly regulated by law, with clear guidelines and limitations in place to ensure public safety and accountability. 

Recent incidents have brought renewed attention to these regulations, sparking debate and discussion about when and how police officers are authorised to use force, including the use of firearms. Despite the recent events – with two deaths after suspects were shot by the police within two weeks, the number of such incidents in Austria is not high.

READ ALSO: What rules does Austria have on gun ownership?

In 2022, weapons were used 654 times by officers in 213 different incidents. In many incidents different police used their firearms and often more than once.

In those incidents some 137 people were left slightly injured, four were seriously injured, and no one was killed, according to a Der Standard report.

Provisional figures for 2023 show 328 uses of weapons in 202 different incidents. Sixty-five people were slightly injured, three were seriously injured, and two people were shot dead.

Looking back over a longer period of time, in the past 16 years, 18 people have died as a result of police use of firearms.

What are the rules?

The use of service weapons in Austria is regulated by the Weapons Use Act (Waffengebrauchsgesetz) of 1969, which states that law enforcement agencies such as police officers and municipal police officers may use weapons in cases of “just self-defence”, the report said.

For example, to overcome resistance to an official act, to make an arrest or to prevent the escape of an arrested person. Even then, the use of weapons is only permitted by law “if harmless or less dangerous measures”, including the threat of using weapons, pursuing a fleeing person, the use of physical force or milder means such as handcuffs, “appear unsuitable or have proven to be ineffective.” 

READ ALSO: Is Vienna a safe city to visit?

Only the least dangerous weapon may be used if various weapons are available – service weapons also include tear gas or batons. The purpose of using weapons against people may only be to “render the target incapable of attacking, resisting or fleeing”.

According to the Weapons Use Act, a service weapon is permitted in defence of a person to suppress a riot or insurrection, as well as in some instances of arrest or to prevent an escape. And to arrest or prevent the escape of “an insane person who is generally dangerous to the safety of the person or property”.

In any case, whenever the police fire their weapons, the incidents are the subject of internal investigations by the Investigation and Complaints Office for Allegations of Abuse at the Federal Bureau of Anti-Corruption (BAK-EBM). The authority will decide whether the case was an instance of self-defence and whether the use of a pistol was justified.

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