"Oath of revelation"

Police union lashes out at Chancellor Nehammer

Police unionist Hermann Greylinger comments on the deportation issue.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/APA/HERBERT NEUBAUER, APA/HANS KLAUS TECHT)

ÖVP Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer called for more deportations and a rethink on this issue at EU level in an interview with "Krone". This, in turn, is now also triggering strong reactions in the Ministry of the Interior. A senior trade unionist has even called Nehammer's comments an "oath of disclosure" and explained that individual people are deported up to 40 times a year and that the statistics are therefore falsified.

The "Krone" interview with ÖVP Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer had a wide impact - and apparently also caused an uproar in Nehammer's old workplace, the Ministry of the Interior. Hermann Greylinger, who is also a member of the SPÖ, the deputy chairman of the central committee and the police union, spoke out there on Tuesday.

And he made it clear: "The chancellor's demand is a revelation of the failure of the ÖVP, which has provided the chancellor for the last seven years and has provided the interior minister for the last 24 years, with a few exceptions."

Police unionist Hermann Greylinger comments on the deportation issue.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/APA/HERBERT NEUBAUER, APA/HANS KLAUS TECHT)

"The issue is being misused"
According to the trade unionist, the issue is being "misused for party political purposes". One of the reasons for this is the fact that the deportation figures are being distorted to a certain extent by multiple deportations. According to Greylinger, in the case of deportations to Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, some foreigners are deported up to 40 times in just one year. 

However, the press office of the Ministry of the Interior did not want to confirm to "Krone" that such multiple deportations were occurring. "The cost of a smuggling operation is very high. 90 percent of asylum seekers come with smugglers. The cost of a tow/per person is around 3000 to 5000 euros. For many, this is only possible with the financial resources of the entire extended family and only once," he said.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/stock.adobe.com | Quelle: Innenministerium)

Another point of criticism from the trade unionist: those who leave the country "on their own" are usually prisoners who have been released early. This is because if they have served at least half of their sentence and then immediately leave the country voluntarily, the remainder of their sentence is canceled.

However, if these ex-prisoners re-enter Austria, they would then have to serve the remainder of their sentence - if they are caught ...

Karoline Preißer, Deputy Director of the Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum (BFA), explains: "In the case of people with entry or residence bans from neighboring countries and Europe (e.g. Serbia), it can happen that they are deported several times."

However, Preißer emphasizes that this is done consistently: "If people from neighbouring countries with a residence ban are found in Austria, they are consistently deported." This is "a clear sign that the BFA is working consistently and contributing to security in Austria". 

ÖVP constitutional spokesman Wolfgang Gerstl has now also spoken out on the matter and says: "This is typical SPÖ double standards: his red party comrades have fought against any tightening of asylum for decades and recently decided to stop deportations to Afghanistan at the party conference."