A “special report” from the Ombuds Service in connection with the terrorist attack in Vienna in November 2020 has hit the Interior Ministry hard. Incomplete investigations, misjudgments and errors of law are particularly criticized. “But the report was never about shaming individuals,” said Ombudsman Walter Rosenkranz (FPÖ) when presenting the report on Wednesday.
According to Rosenkranz, three Ombudsman officials have been dealing with the events surrounding the terrorist attack for several months. The results have been sent to MPs in the form of a report signed by all three ombudsmen and can be viewed online.
“Consistent Mismanagement”
According to Rosenkranz, the “main criticism” of the report is that the officials of the then Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BVT) and the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution (LVT) in Vienna did not inform the prosecutor’s office that the later assassin had attempted to attack in Slovakia in the summer of 2020, ammunition for an AK-47. Failure to report to the prosecutor’s office was “consistent mismanagement”.
The Ministry’s actions in relation to the Ombudsman’s investigation have also been criticized. The delivery of files or the answering of questions from the examiner was repeatedly refused. According to the Ombudsman’s Service, this was a “legal error” by the Ministry of the Interior. The files were only accessible through the Ministry of Justice, which had shown cooperation.
Ministry refers to terminated proceedings
The Department of the Interior last week, at the request of the APA, referred to investigations against LVT officials that had already been halted by the prosecutor’s office. These investigations were based on reports of suspected abuse of office. After the preliminary investigation by the WKStA was stopped, the LPD Vienna investigated the facts and came to the conclusion that “no official or disciplinary action should be taken against the employees concerned”.
Legal clarification required
Rosencrantz said officials lacked “necessary fire” in handling the attack. He recommends Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) the “full disciplinary clarification” of the shortcomings in the protection of the constitution. With regard to reporting to the public prosecutor’s office, the report notes “legal uncertainty” due to the split of the new Directorate of State Security and Intelligence Service (DSN) in the field of intelligence and state security.
The question of whether information obtained by the intelligence service must also be reported to the judicial authorities is not clearly regulated in the “State Security and Intelligence Service Act”; this requires legal clarification.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
