Serious accusations against the police after the evacuation of the ÖVP headquarters in Innsbruck: the animal rights activists even speak of ‘excesses of violence’ and the executive announced an investigation.
“We were forcibly stripped and groped, forced to take photos, humiliated and deliberately injured!” in Innsbruck and have requested a meeting with Agriculture Minister Norbert Totschnig, have serious consequences.
Injuries, pain and psychological consequences
According to this information, after the evacuation, police officers intervened, among other things, to pin five arrested animal rights activists in a garage against the wall and drive them away. “A man and a woman were even touched on their genitals,” the organization says. Three male officers are also said to have entered a cell with four female activists in the middle of the night, sat on them with the words ‘We can do anything’, pulled their hair and forced them to show their faces.
“It shocks me deeply to have to listen to these stories. Some activists now have to undergo trauma therapy treatments. “Much of what the police did in Innsbruck was illegal,” says VGT chairman Martin Balluch in shock. According to the animal rights activists, the “excessive force of the police” resulted in a swollen jaw, a black eye, several bruises and pain that continues to this day.
The fact that vegans were not provided with vegan meals, apart from dry bread and some jam, has also been sharply criticized. “We are considering legal action against the police in Tyrol, even though we know that a complaint about the measures taken will leave the real perpetrators completely untouched,” Balluch explains.
Take colleagues in Vienna as role models
That police officers can also act cautiously and deliberately was evident during the occupation of the Ministry of Agriculture in Vienna in May. “The police officers in Innsbruck must take their colleagues in the federal capital as role models,” says the VGT chairman.
The police announce an investigation
The police say they are taking the serious allegations very seriously. The complaints office for allegations of assault has now been notified and will investigate the matter. Furthermore, the board emphasizes that neither the activists nor the leader of the rally reported any injuries or made accusations against the officials immediately after the eviction.
Source: Krone
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