How neo -Nazis in Austria lured gay men in accuracy
Raids in the right-wing extremist milieu together with extensive weapons and devotional finds have become a certain routine in Austria. Even over high levels of organization, you are hardly surprised in this country. And not even if connections to political parties become known. However, the raid on last Friday stands out. Because so far it was primarily about groups who prepared themselves for a certain day, hoarding weapons, setting actions in the background and making plans, it was now about a group of people who have already stepped into action.
The at least 16 suspicious, gay men is accused of being in a targeted manner, beating them up, humiliating them and filming the whole thing. We are talking about at least 17 victims. In at least one case, the suspicion of attempted murder is in the room. Further attacks by the group are assumed. In any case, the investigators call up possible other victims to report to the authorities.
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Perpetrators provided videos of violence attacks in private chat groups
The suspects are twelve men and three women as well as another non -detailed person between the ages of 14 and 26. An extremely high degree of networking is assumed. There were house searches in the group of the group in all federal states in Austria, except Vorarlberg and Carinthia. In addition to evidence on the immediate suspicion, Nazi devotionals and weapons were found. The investigation was initiated by the Graz public prosecutor. Now it is to be decided whether the suspects are imposed on the custody.
The motives said on the part of the investigators that the suspects had wanted to terrorize ‘pedophiles’.
The perpetrators were very coordinated and always similar in their actions. Accordingly, they created fake accounts on social networks, made contact and tried to persuade their victims. However, between four and eight masked perpetrators appeared there. The aim was apparently to add injuries to the victims and to humiliate them, the police said. The perpetrators finally put the videos of the attacks in private chat groups.
As a police spokesman said, the perpetrators became increasingly brutal in these attacks. The motives said by the investigators that the suspects had wanted to terrorize « pedophiles ». The group described itself as a « Pedo Hunter ». This corresponds to a trend existing in relevant networks for several years. It is also known that Russian neo -Nazis have been doing the same way for many years – with toleration and partly aid of local authorities. In the current case, the investigator places great emphasis on the fact that the group has not had pedophiles but gay men in their sights.
During house searches in Austria, Nazi devotionalies and weapons were also found in addition to evidence on the immediate suspicions. Photo: dpa
Perpetrators are said to come from the right -wing extremist camp
As far as the connections of the perpetrators are concerned, little is known. It is clear that the right-wing extremist camp in Austria has experienced major changes since the Corona protests. The boundaries of the right -wing extremist FPÖ (the strongest party in the country), the extra -parliamentary mainstream in the form of the identity movement and neo -Nazi splinter groups such as the « Tanzbrigade Vienna » or « Defend Austria » are blurred. There are information on connections by the perpetrators to the latter groups.
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According to the hate crime report in 2023, there has been the most massive increase among all hate crimes recorded in recent years-plus 20 percent in the past few years. What has not existed so far: a targeted organization of the perpetrators. The now excavated group is the first of this kind in Austria.
