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Kujtim Fejzulai was released in early December 2019 from a 22-month prison sentence for 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 appointed for a risk assessment by the Vienna State Office for the Protection of the Constitution and the Fight Against the Terrorism (LVT). 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.
Only then was Fejzulai elevated from “moderate risk” to “high risk.” The Commission’s conclusion: “The fact that an initial assessment takes almost ten months does not seem acceptable.” The LVT explained the long duration to the investigative commission as a lack of resources and time, which the committee chaired by criminal lawyer Ingeborg Zerbes describes as an “organizational deficit”, if the objection is justified.
Although the German constitutional brigade knew that Fejzulai 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 Vienna LVT, responsible for operational security in the federal capital. , did not know the explosiveness of this meeting. . The investigating commission emphasized that it was “a terrorist cell that was considered ready to attack.” A single LVT employee knew that a “highly dangerous terrorist cell” was forming. However, the commission notes that the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and the Fight Against Terrorism (BVT) has “emphatically forced him to remain silent. “. The BVT denies it.
Was careless
From the point of view of the commission, it was also careless when clear indications were reported from the Slovak authorities that the 20-year-old had tried on July 21, 2020 in Bratislava to buy ammunition for an automatic assault rifle which he later used in the terrorist attack. On July 27, the BVT received images from the surveillance camera of the Slovak arms business, which were only forwarded 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 a “dubious concentration of notices”: his superiors and the BVT did not accept his suggestion to take action in accordance with the Police State Protection Law. Ultimately, from the BVT’s point of view, Fejzulai was only clearly identified as a failed ammunition buyer in Bratislava on October 16.
“The first interim report shows and demonstrates how important it was to create the commission and investigate what was happening,” the director general of Public Security, Franz Ruf, told the report presented. And also: “It was important for the Minister of the Interior, for me and for the President of the State Police, Gerhard Prstl, that there be total clarity and transparency.
The secretary general of the Ministry of the Interior assured Parliament that he will have exhaustive information on the initial conclusions of the investigative commission, whose final report will be available at the end of January. “Those extracts that cannot be published because otherwise investigations would be compromised but also cooperation with partner services would be hampered, of course, are available to the secret parliament subcommittee.” Tomac announced that the interim report will now be carefully studied at the Interior Ministry. They have created their own investigation team, “which examines the legal steps and then draws the appropriate conclusions.”
The Justice Ministry had previously published the part of the investigation report that affected them on Wednesday afternoon.
