According to the responsible ministers Alma Zadic (Greens) and Karoline Edtstadler (ÖVP), the federal government is bringing the prohibition law “into the 21st century”. And that is accompanied by some tightening, the two ministers announced on Wednesday after the Council of Ministers. According to the plans, it will also become a criminal offense if relevant content is posted from abroad with Austria as its destination. In addition, you automatically lose your government job if you are convicted under the Prohibition Act.
Justice Minister Zadic called the fact that “any trivialization” of the Shoah (Hebrew term for the destruction of European Jews by the National Socialists, ed.) is now punishable, an additional aggravation. Until now, any “gross trivialization” is considered a criminal offense. This should also make it possible to act more consistently against the wearing of, among other things, yellow modified Jewish stars, as happened at numerous demonstrations by opponents of corona measures.
The conviction rate needs to go up
A new provision in the Prohibition Act should allow authorities to withdraw Nazi memorabilia – such as an SS honorary ring – without criminal charges. The current situation is that items can only be confiscated if there is reactivation. Possession alone is not an offence. Another goal is to increase the number of convictions for violations of the prohibition law.
In order to work even better and more accurately in the future, a working group commissioned by the Ministry of Justice has evaluated which refinements and improvements are needed in the prohibition law, according to the cabinet. The working group included the Documentation Archive of the Austrian Resistance, the Viennese Jewish Community, the Central Austrian Research Center for Post-war Justice, the Mauthausen Committee Austria and representatives of science, the legal profession, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of the Interior and the Federal Chancellery.
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.
