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According to the Director General of Public Security, Franz ruf, the two men convicted of attempted honor killings received lengthy prison terms. One was sentenced to ten years in prison in 2012 and released in 2017. The other at five years and six months. It was released in 2015.
For eight of the 16 arrested after the Vienna attack, the Vienna Public Prosecutor requested custody, as it became known late at night. He is urgently suspected of having contributed to the crime or of having committed the crime of participation in a terrorist group or criminal organization, spokeswoman Nina Bussek said Thursday night. A suspect was released because the suspicion was unfounded. The investigation of the facts of the case has not yet been completed for five of the accused and two of the detainees have not yet been transferred to prison. About eight U-Haft-The prosecution will decide tomorrow, Friday, the Vienna Regional Criminal Court.
Allegations that security authorities did not provide information about an attempted gun purchase by the later killer were defended at a press conference on Thursday. The letter from Slovakia was received by the national authorities on October 16. That a report came in and “nothing had happened” is not true, said the Vienna police chief. Gerhard Pürstl. “If each action and if each step in the investigation was correct”, it will show an evaluation and the use of a commission of inquiry. “We have proceeded to the best of our knowledge so far,” emphasized Pürstl.
This was the communication with Slovakia
On 23 July, the Austrian authorities were informed via EUROPOL about a failed purchase of ammunition in Slovakia. The protection of the constitution has started investigations. The last murderer was quickly identified, the Slovak authorities were informed, but it took them a long time to confirm that he was the last perpetrator. The protection of the constitution had already carried out a risk assessment during this time. The Slovak authorities had been summoned several times, twice in writing, and once the investigators had called that “we urgently need information”, declared the director general of Public Security, Franz Ruf. Because an observation is only possible “if the identity is assured”.
Of course, “the other surveys held up afterwards, so assessing people’s risk is not an easy matter,” Pürstl said. Local authorities received the letter from Slovakia on October 16. However, according to Pürstl, “it was not certain until the end that one of the men had tried to buy the ammunition.” It was also emphasized on Thursday that the purchase of rifle ammunition is not a crime and, for example, can be carried out in Austria by innocent citizens aged 18 or over. On November 2, the 20-year-old murderer committed the bombing in Vienna in which four people died.
“No one should be tempted to start reading a detective novel from behind,” Pürstl said. State security responded immediately, but the risk assessment is always a forecast, Pürstl said. “We have a clear conscience about it, but I cannot say that everything went well and that is why we will investigate it,” said the police commissioner. “We can only make an observation if identity is assured,” Ruf said. After a request from the investigator, it must be approved by the legal protection officer.
Investigation on Contribution to Murder
More details on the 15 people detained after the attack were released at the press conference, all of whom have already been admitted to jails. According to Ruf, the 15 are being investigated for possible contributors to the murder and terrorist organization. All must be assigned to the radical Islamist milieu. Eight of the 15 have already been convicted of various crimes. Four for the crime of criminal association, two for various violent crimes such as resisting state violence and coercion, and two for attempted honor killing in Linz. According to Ruf, one of the men was sentenced to ten years in prison in 2012 and released in 2017, the second was released as a taxpayer for five years and six months and released in 2015. According to information from the APA, there is already a final charge against at least one other person arrested, an 18-year-old, also for belonging to a criminal organization.
The Interior Minister also explained that there are two lines of investigation, one leading to Switzerland, where two people have already been arrested. Another branch of the investigation leads to a country that Nehammer did not want to name due to ongoing investigations. It should be Germany. Nehammer highlighted the good cooperation with the authorities of the international partners. There is also “intensive” cooperation with the FBI. It has not been easy to regain the trust of partner countries and associated services, he said. The full investigation of the perpetrator’s network is not yet complete.
A total of five shootings
Nehammer once again praised the highly professional work of the police on Monday. After four hours the author was identified. Ruf entered the course of the attack. The emergency call was received at 8 pm, the first shot by a police officer was fired at 8:03 pm – by the officer who was beaten by the killer. There were a total of five more shootings before Vega “took out” the perpetrator. According to the CEO, the 20-year-old was hit under the left shoulder blade and the projectile injured his left lung and spine.
Regarding the allegation that the first officers to intervene were not equipped with an assault rifle, Pürstl said this could be dangerous due to the urban area. Any use of a weapon in the urban area, and in particular an assault rifle, is extremely dangerous and any ricochet can be dangerous for passersby. The Vienna police have about 1,000 assault rifles.
The first car radio was “65 seconds after the on-site emergency call.” The three district radio vehicles had not considered a terrorist situation. Therefore, they would not have considered using an assault rifle to combat the perpetrators, but instead used the pistol first. It is not so easy for colleagues to classify the operation right away. There is no “deficit” in terms of equipment. “We can’t see any omissions here,” Pürstl said.
Ruf made it clear Thursday that the arrest of the 15 people was not related to the “Ramses” counterterrorism operation, which was scheduled for Tuesday. “No major action was planned against the perpetrator and the 15 people arrested. The rest of the information is incorrect,” the general manager said. Nehammer emphasized that there are ongoing operations, the fight against terrorism has not been taking place since Monday. If such actions were announced, the operation would be dead and undercover investigators in danger, according to Nehammer.
