Combating extremism

Political centers smeared: Six arrests

(Bild: Christof Birbaumer)

Six people between the ages of 26 and 37 were arrested on Thursday. Officers from the Tyrol State Office for State Protection and Counter-Extremism were involved with the support of other police units from the Tyrol Provincial Police Directorate and EKO Cobra.

The six people who were arrested on Thursday have been released. They are suspected of serious damage to property and criminal association. Specifically, as members of a criminal organization, they are alleged to have damaged buildings in which the premises of political parties are located on at least three occasions.

As members of a criminal organization, the arrested persons are suspected of having caused serious damage to buildings in Innsbruck, in which the premises of political parties are located, on at least three occasions.

Die Polizei

Among other things, facades and parked vehicles were smeared or defaced with lettering and a window was smashed, according to the investigators. The six people (with Austrian, German or Italian citizenship) were arrested on behalf of the public prosecutor's office in Innsbruck and house searches were carried out at several locations in the districts of Innsbruck Land and Innsbruck Stadt.

ÖVP and FPÖ headquarters smeared
The ÖVP headquarters in Innsbruck's Fallmerayerstrasse had been repeatedly smeared with paint in recent months. A letter of confession was also pinned to the wall, referring to murders of women in Austria. "Our rage on your walls" was emblazoned on the façade of the building, for example, while "Not a single one less" had previously been written. In the letter of confession, the perpetrators criticized Women's Minister Susanne Raab (ÖVP). She was accused of "deliberately" concealing the suffering through her statements by declaring the acts to be a private matter. The FPÖ citizens' office in Innsbruck's Anichstraße was also targeted by vandals.

Evidence seized
The damage amounts to tens of thousands. Several data carriers and other evidence were seized during the house searches, which are now being analyzed. The investigation is still ongoing.