Situation reassessed

Vienna police clear the pro-Palestine camp!

(Bild: APA/MAX SLOVENCIK)

The police have now evacuated the pro-Palestine protest camp on the campus of the University of Vienna near the Old General Hospital. This was confirmed by the Vienna police on Thursday night - according to them, the eviction had already begun in the afternoon. And it was peaceful. The reason is said to have been the increasing number of radical statements. For the officers, a point had been passed at which the right to freedom of expression ends. 

The gathering at the Old General Hospital in Vienna, which had not been reported since Monday, had been closely monitored and legally assessed by the police at all times. "The rally was covered by freedom of expression and freedom of assembly at the beginning and initially also in the further course", explained police spokesman Mattias Schuster on Thursday. However, as the protest progressed, increasingly radical tendencies and statements are said to have emerged. The camp was evacuated. 

Protesters had 15 minutes to clear the camp
Activists had previously reported by email that around 200 police officers had surrounded the camp on Wednesday and given the protesters 15 minutes to leave the site. The "campers" then gathered once again in front of the campus and chanted slogans - traffic on Alser Straße in the Alsergrund district was blocked. Among other things, they chanted "Shame on you!" in the direction of the police.

Protesters had been setting up a tent camp on the university campus in Vienna's Old General Hospital since Monday evening.

(Bild: APA/MAX SLOVENCIK)

"Every single action relating to this rally, which has been going on since Monday, has, in an overall assessment, a character that threatens public safety, whereby a point has been crossed at which the right to freedom of expression ends", said Schuster on Thursday. According to the Directorate of State Security and Intelligence, the actual purpose of this gathering was no longer given at the end and was no longer compatible with Austrian law. 

Tents already pitched on Monday
Following a "pro-Palestine" demonstration on Monday, around 100 people had already pitched their tents on the campus of the University of Vienna at the Old General Hospital. The University of Vienna "firmly" distanced itself from the protesters' concerns.

Camps were also set up and buildings occupied at universities in the USA and Europe. Violence broke out in some cases during their eviction. In Vienna, however, everything went peacefully.

According to the activists, three of their members initially remained on campus on Thursday night.