“The State Office for the Protection of the Constitution has maintained untruths despite several refutations,” the lawyer of a former preacher, who was convicted of a terrorist organization in Graz, accuses the investigating authorities. There would have been no incriminating material, just “fantasy stories”. In addition to the resumption, defender Christian Fauland also plans to file a complaint against the LVT.
Three times the terrorist case “Taqwa” was negotiated in Graz. The Supreme Court has overturned the verdicts twice. The focus was – together with twelve other defendants – a Bosnian pastor who allegedly led to the joining of young men with IS in Syria.
The 48-year-old is said to have worked for years in a Salafist mosque and, alongside the repeatedly convicted jihadist Mirsad O., is considered one of the most radical minds. So much for the information provided by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution and the Prosecutor’s Office in Graz after the 2017 raids.
No phone calls to family for two years
In the last trial in 2022, the father of five children was sentenced to seven years and three months in prison – he was imprisoned for five years and, for example, only called his family for the first time after two years due to security measures.
In March 2023, the Graz Supreme Court almost halved the sentence after his lawyer Christian Fauland appealed. Among other things, the Senate decided “that the danger should not be estimated to be so great”.
“How does that square with the fact that my client should be such a super-terrorist?” says Fauland. He accuses the investigative State Office for the Protection of the Constitution (LVT) of abuse of power and flawed investigation. “And these results were accepted unchecked by all decision makers and, unfortunately, supported.”
“Believes in the Rule of Law”
“But no one has ever sued my client, on the contrary. At the time of the crime he did not even preach anymore, but withdrew because everything became too radical for him. He was never in the “Taqwa” club in Graz. But because he believes in the rule of law, we are now going to apply for a relocation.”
Screening against the LVT Styria
Fauland is also planning a complaint against the LVT. It wouldn’t be the first time the Styrian LVT, led by Rupert Meixner, has been targeted. In the “pig’s head affair” about the desecration of a mosque by right-wing extremists in Graz, the LVT boss would not have intervened despite the nightly alarm.
Peter Pilz, to whom internal reports of the cause were passed, said the LVT in the right eye doesn’t see very well.
Number of leaked threats
Or when Meixner, in a message to the private e-mail address of ex-LH Schützenhöfer, revealed internal data such as the number of threats in Styria and emphasized his powerlessness in the fight against terror. And he called for staff to be re-advertised due to allegedly unsuitable people in his office. Everything in black and white – top secret…
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
