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According to the Ministry of the Interior, this stems from the interim report of the investigating commission. The opposition feels strengthened in its criticism.
8.30 pm, December 23, 2020
According to the Ministry of Justice, on Wednesday night the Ministry of the Interior approved the part of the first report of the commission of inquiry about the terrorist attack in the center of Vienna on November 2. However, for intelligence reasons, not quite how Secretary General Helmut Tomac explained. The published passages, however, show blatant omissions on the part of the intelligence service in dealing with the later assassin.
In December 2019, the killer was prematurely released from a 22-month prison sentence for a terrorist organization: he wanted to join the radical Islamist terrorist militia “Islamic State” (IS) in Syria. According to the commission, he behaved uncooperatively during a so-called threat speech on December 17 and was therefore of Vienna State Office for the Protection of the Constitution and the Fight against Terrorism (LVT) intended for a risk assessment. However, the LVT did not present one of these until September 11, 2020; It also had to be upgraded twice and was only completed on October 7, just under four weeks before the terrorist attack that killed four bystanders. It was only at this point that the perpetrator went from “moderate risk” to “high risk.” Commission conclusion: “The fact that an initial evaluation takes almost ten months does not seem acceptable.” The LVT explained the long duration to the investigation committee as a lack of resources and time, what the committee, chaired by criminal lawyer Ingeborg Zerbes, calls an “organizational deficit”, in case the objection is justified.
Although German constitutional protection officials knew that the perpetrator met with German and Swiss Islamists on several occasions in the federal capital in mid-July and that the group was observed by local officials, the Viennese LVT, responsible for operational security in the federal capital, was not aware of this meeting. deliberately. The investigating commission emphasized that it was a “terrorist cell that was considered ready to attack”, emphasizing that a single LVT employee knew that a “highly dangerous terrorist cell” was being formed. Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and the Fight against Terrorism (BVT) However, I have made a “firm commitment to remain silent,” notes the Commission. The BVT denies this process.
From the Commission’s point of view, it was also neglected when the Slovak authorities reported clear indications that the 20-year-old had tried on July 21, 2020, to buy ammunition for an automatic assault rifle in Bratislava, which he then used in the terrorist attack. On July 27, the BVT received images from the surveillance camera of the Slovak arms store, which were only sent to the LVT in Vienna on August 24 with a request to identify the person represented. The following day, LVT informed BVT that the photos “apparently” show the “well-known” Kujtim Fejzulai. According to the commission, an LVT employee now recognized one “questionable compression of references” – His suggestion to take action in accordance with the Police State Protection Law was not accepted by his superiors and the BVT. Ultimately, from the BVT point of view, the killer was only clearly identified as a failed ammunition buyer in Bratislava on October 16.
Reactions to the interim report
The opposition saw their criticism confirmed by the interim report. by SPÖ Security Spokesperson Reinhold Einwallner makes it clear “that the verbal attack on the judiciary of Federal Chancellor Kurz and Minister of the Interior Nehammer pure amusement of the failure of the Interior Ministry was. “The FPÖ – among them Home Secretary Herbert Kickl The 2018 raid took place: they felt their criticism of BVT reinforced. “This office, which has been completely destroyed by decades of deeply black personnel policy, is apparently not even willing to inform other BMI authorities about the dangers of explosives,” he said. Security Spokesperson Hannes Amesbauer. by NEOS Defense Spokesperson Douglas Hoyos The report presents a “devastating picture of the state of the Austrian security authorities, especially the state of the BVT.” Stephanie Krisper, NEOS Security Spokesperson he demanded a “complete reorganization” of “constitutional protection”, which had been abused by the ÖVP as a political-partisan playing field from the beginning.
“The first interim report shows and demonstrates how important it was to establish the commission and investigate what was going on,” he replied. Director General of Public Safety, Franz Ruf, in the report presented. And furthermore: “To the Minister of the Interior, he and I The Chairman of the State Police, Gerhard Pürstl From the beginning it was important that there be total clarity and transparency. Above all, the results will make a significant contribution to the ongoing reform of constitution protection. “
The Secretary General of the Ministry of the Interior assured Parliament that he had a complete overview of the initial findings of the inquiry commission.whose final report should be available at the end of January. “Those extracts that cannot be published, because otherwise the investigations would be in jeopardy but would also hinder cooperation with the associated services, are of course made available to the secret subcommittee of the parliament.” Tomac announced that the interim report will now be carefully studied at the Interior Ministry. They have created their own research group, “which examines the legal steps and then draws the appropriate conclusions.”
Minister Alma Zadic (Greens) stated that the judiciary was “acting correctly.” He had published this part of the report for some time before the Interior Ministry, “for the sake of transparency and clarification,” as the Minister of Justice stressed in a broadcast. The commission’s recommendations to develop work to de-radicalize convicted Islamists and to hold case conferences prior to the release of convicted Islamists have already been included in the first anti-terror package.
