They erected an eight-meter-high wooden cross and a 17-meter-long banner. There was also a plaque with a quote from former Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, which spoke of the “fight once morest political Islam.” The wooden cross and the banner were clearly visible from both the B1 and the railway line.
The defendants were already acquitted of the charge of incitement in the first instance, which has now been confirmed by the Higher Regional Court. According to the court, there was no evidence of “incitement to hatred” and it was permissible political criticism.
The action took place on the grounds of the cultural association on the night of August 21-22, 2021. At the time, perpetrators who were still unknown erected an eight-meter-high wooden cross and attached a 17-meter-long banner in front of it with the inscription: “The Upper Austria Islamism Center is being built here.” An abbreviated quote from former Chancellor Sebastian Kurz from November 11, 2020 can also be read on a plaque.
“Raise awareness and warn”
At the time, he spoke of wanting to take action once morest those “who are not terrorists themselves, but who create the breeding ground for them.” Martin Sellner, founder of the right-wing extremist “Identitarian Movement,” is also drumming up support on his channels to prevent “a new large mosque in Vöcklabruck.” The Bosniak-Austrian Cultural Association has been accused of radical Islamism time and once more.
In August 2022, five men aged 19 to 51 from the districts of Vöcklabruck, Rohrbach and Linz as well as from Lower Austria finally appeared before the Wels Regional Court. The men did not deny the action, but only wanted to “draw attention” and “warn”.
