Tensions flair a week after an Islamic terror attack killed four.
Tensions flair a week after an Islamic terror attack killed four.
VIENNA, Austria— — By James King
Police in Vienna, Austria are facing criticism for escorting a far-right demonstration that featured anti-Muslim slogans as the city reels from last week’s “Islamist terror” attack.
Social Democratic politician Omar Al-Rawi shared footage of the Nov. 8 incident, which he received from a local resident, with Zenger News. In the video, a police car is seen traveling down a street and escorting a van, which is playing a muezzin’s call to prayer along with sounds of gunfire through loudspeakers.
“This was a demonstration organized by a single person who had applied for permission and who had a police escort,” Al-Rawi said. “The police took far too long to react. The patrol car apparently contacted the police headquarters, which then said they needed to get legal advice before deciding whether they could cancel the process.”
Al-Fawi believes the protest lasted for at least an hour before it was stopped and was organized by a person linked to Pegida, which stands for Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the Occident. The anti-Islamic, far-right political movement was founded in Germany in 2014 and has since spread across Europe.
Police addressed the demonstration on social media after receiving complaints. They explained it was registered “with 10 people under the title ‘Tolerance and Diversity’” and that it was only supposed to use the speakers to play Oriental music.
“At the time of the notice of the meeting there was no reason for prohibition,” police said. “After the rally left at 9:20 a.m., Oriental music was played initially. Subsequently, machine gun ointments and anti-Muslim slogans were played a total of four times during the entire rally, for a period of one-to-two minutes. During the clarification with the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Combating Terrorism and the taking of measures by the colleagues present on site, the rally ended at 10:00 a.m.”
The demonstration took place just days after Vienna was rocked by a shooting that killed at least four people and injured 23 others on Nov. 2. The gunman, who was shot dead by police as they responded to the attack, was later identified as Kujtim Fejzulai, a 20-year-old “Islamist terrorist” jailed last year for attempting to travel to Syria to join ISIS. He held both Austrian and Macedonian citizenship.
(Edited by Carlin Becker and Fern Siegel)
