Friday, 25. May 2012

:: Home > General News > Police accused of ignoring neo-Nazi attack

M	T	W	T	F	S	S
30	1	2	3	4	5	6
7	8	9	10	11	12	13
14	15	16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27
28	29	30	31	1	2	3

Add your event FREE

Today

Polls

10. 02. 12. - 16:00

Police accused of ignoring neo-Nazi attack

Viennese police officers are facing jail over failing to help a retired politician after he was assaulted by a right-wing mob.

Albrecht Konecny, the former head of the Social Democrats’ (SPÖ) delegation in the federal council (Bundesrat), said a group of policemen were watching on as he was beaten up on his way home from a street event against xenophobia and fascism.

Konecny attended an event organised by several human rights organisations and non-government organisations (NGOs) last month. Representatives of the Jewish Community in Vienna (IKG), Austrian unionists, the Austrian Green Party and students also attended by gathering in Vienna’s Innere Stadt district last month.

They also came together to commemorate the victims of the Nazis’ killings at the death and slave labour camp of Auschwitz. The open air event took place on the same day as a ball co-organised by student fraternities with a right-wing extremist background. NGOs were outraged that this year’s Viennese Corporations Ball was staged on the international Auschwitz concentration camp commemoration day. Organisers of the ball – which was attended Front National (FN) chairwomen Marine Le Pen and Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) leader Heinz-Christian Strache – claimed that this was pure coincidence.

Konecny said the group of people who punched him senseless that night were most likely members of Austria’s neo-Nazi scene. The former politician stressed that the police officers who were nearby did not help him on his feet after the attackers ran away. Konecny said they did not call an ambulance either, claiming that the police radio was busy.

Now it emerged that the Viennese police directorate started an internal investigation. The officers accused of denial of assistance when the physical assault occurred could be imprisoned for up to six months, according to reports. Newspapers also reveal today (Fri) that the leaders of police in the capital city decided to ask the state prosecution to investigate the matter.

The disputed ball took place at Vienna’s Hofburg Palace for the first time in 1968. A group of companies handling the venue’s promotion and marketing activities decided not to extend the contract with student fraternities due to the mounting political controversy. This means that the right-wingers must search for another venue from next year.

Several FPÖ officials and supporters filed protest notes to the firms in charge of the decision. They warned from a boycott as a consequence if their decision was final. Several five-star hotels such as Vienna’s Intercontinental and Sacher but also Casinos Austria would be affected by their reaction as they are part of the business cooperation in charge of Hofburg Palace’s economic concerns.

Viennese police forces shut down vast areas around the building on the evening of the ball in the past years to avoid riots. A spokesman for the police said hundreds of people from several European countries, especially Germany, participated in violent action against the guests of the event as they tried to make their way into Hofburg Palace. Three Vienna Corporations Ball attendants and five police officers were injured on the night this year. An undisclosed number of protesters were temporarily detained.

Austrian Times

Are you on Facebook? Like the Austrian Times on Facebook and win great prizes!

Write your comment to this article here

Tag cloud:
politician protest Austrian Viennese assaulted students ball Palace NGOs Hofburg police event fraternities Nazi ndash Konecny attended Ouml Vienna rsquo

Latest News

Turks flattened by lone asylum seeker
A furious Nigerian went on the rampage at a refuge for asylum seekers in Leibnitz, attacking several people and damaging property.

Woman bites toddler
A woman who bit a two-year-old tot during a road rage row with her mother is being quizzed by police in Wiener Neustadt, Austria.

New Dany Boon comedy to be filmed in Austria
The French film star Dany Boon, one of the highest paid actors in Europe after his hit film "Welcome to the Sticks", is filming in Salzburg.

China meets Hallstatt
After a long time of speculation and anticipation the exact copy of Austrian world heritage village of Hallstatt-Dachstein in China will be unveiled, and there will be real-life Austrians present for the ceremony.

Skier in court after accident
A man from Graz is in court today accused of having inflicted negligent injury upon a five-year-old when skiing in Carinthia last year.

Two fires in Ottakring claim one life
Two fires started on Thursday evening in the Vienna district of Ottakring, one of which claimed a man�s life. Several people were evacuated as a result of the two blazes.

Cows zapped to death by lightning
Four cows were zapped to death after a lightning strike hit the barbed wire fence they were leaning on in Reith im Alpbachtal, Austria.

Wolf babies born in Sch�nbrunn
These cuddly Artic wolf cubs have got every right to look a bit frosty - after they emerged into the world for the first time in the middle of a 27 degree heatwave.

Cleaned Out
A Hungarian cleaning woman who stole tens of thousands of pounds worth of antique jewellery from an Austrian Countess and then sold it for "pocket money" unaware of its real value has been jailed by a court in Austria.

Great expectations for summer tourism season in Vorarlberg
The Vorarlberg tourism industry is currently riding high after a record breaking winter season, and the summer season is expected to follow that same trend.

Jobs in Austria

Popular in Austria

The most popular stories –
last 7 days

	Dune And Busted
	Swastika Shaped Austrian School Rebuilt
	Nazi still honoured in Austria
	20th Vienna Life Ball a fiery success!
	Thieves caught trying to nick F**king Sign