Data storage devices such as mobile phones and contacts are currently being analyzed, said Karner at a press conference on “protection against violence” on Monday in Vienna. The minister did not want to comment on details reported in the media, citing ongoing investigations. He again called for “modern surveillance methods.”
A draft law on this subject has been with the Greens for months, said Karner when asked on the sidelines of the press event. The options it contains, for example for monitoring messengers, “make sense”, but he has “no understanding” for “continuous tinkering”. “Terrorists don’t write letters,” emphasized the Interior Minister, referring to the coalition partner for further questions. A majority in the National Council is required for implementation. The Greens have recently shown themselves to be willing to talk in principle, but have called for a proposal that complies with fundamental rights, data protection and the constitution. The ÖVP, on the other hand, had already seen this as a given.
Security check would be “good and reasonable”
Regarding the ongoing investigations, Karner said on Monday that the picture of “attack planning and radicalization” was becoming more and more solid. When asked, Karner did not confirm that, according to the “Standard” (Monday edition), eight security staff members who were scheduled to work at the concert had been identified as officially known. According to the “Standard”, however, the security staff involved were not known to have any connection to the terror plot. When asked, Karner generally welcomed the possibility of creating a mandatory security check for staff at large events. This would be “good and sensible”.
The Freedom Party, however, blamed the People’s Party for the concert cancellations. The ÖVP had left behind an “embarrassing security chaos,” criticized General Secretary Michael Schnedlitz in a press release. This or the associated communication was responsible for the final cancellations. After the warning from abroad, they “waited far too long instead of taking decisive action.” This also endangered the lives of those people who had already been at the stadium one day before the first planned concert. Apparently nothing had been learned from the terrorist attack on November 2, 2020, Schnedlitz concluded: “The ÖVP has seriously managed to drive security completely into the wall.” Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) and the responsible ÖVP ministers are “ready to resign” for the FPÖ.
But no confession: 19-year-old denied allegations
The 19-year-old suspected supporter of the radical Islamist terrorist organization “Islamic State” (IS), who is said to have planned a terrorist attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium together with a 17-year-old, recently denied all the charges against him. After his arrest, the authorities said that he had “fully” confessed. Both the 19-year-old and the 17-year-old are in custody because they pose a risk of committing the crime. Another 18-year-old acquaintance of the main suspect was also taken into custody on Sunday. However, he is said to have known nothing about the alleged attack plans. The three concerts planned by pop star Taylor Swift last week were canceled after the terrorist plans became known.
