Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) wants to “make full use of the harshness of the law” after the Halloween riots in Linz. He told the APA that all residence permits of third-country nationals would also be checked accordingly. In the case of serious criminal offences, deportation abroad must take place. In addition, the Federal Office of Immigration is given the task of investigating whether the asylum status of perpetrators should be revoked. In the medium term, Karner wants to deport him to Syria and Afghanistan.
After the riots on the night of November 1, which Karner calls an “organized hate event”, including attacks on police, 129 suspects were identified. Among them are 35 asylum seekers and five asylum seekers. For the latter group, the Minister of the Interior assumes that their asylum procedure will be terminated. In addition, Karner has suggested to the responsible authorities to split up and relocate the quintet.
Director of National Police sets up task force
To ensure that all relevant authorities are informed and coordinated accordingly, the head of the department has instructed the director of the State Police of Upper Austria to set up a task force with all concerned. In addition to the National Criminal Investigation Department and the National Bureau for the Protection of the Constitution, this should include the responsible immigration and residence authorities (municipal authorities, district authorities), but also the youth authorities.
This is to ensure that all legal options for terminating the residence status have been exhausted. Naturally, the suspects form a heterogeneous group. This also includes twelve EU citizens, 24 persons with permanent residence permits, six persons entitled to subsidiary protection and 46 Austrian nationals.
Of the countries of origin, after the Austrians, 34 of whom the police indicate with a migration background, the Syrians with 28 and the Afghans with 14 are the most strongly represented. According to authorities, Serbs, Kosovars, North Macedonians, Romanians, Thais and Bosniaks also took part in the riots.
Wants to return refugees “in the medium term”.
Afghans and Syrians cannot de facto be deported at the moment, admits the interior minister, who wants to bring about changes at EU level. “In the medium term,” he says, refugees could be returned to some regions of Syria. This could again be possible for men in Afghanistan. Karner points out that 29 Afghans and 48 Syrians have left the country so far this year.
Source: Krone
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