Armed house searches and arrests in Graz following protest against right-wing student associations’ ball

~ Rob Latchford ~

Police in Graz, Austria have arrested seven anti-fascists over the past two weeks on orders of the public prosecutor’s office. The operation began in the early morning of 14 March, when an apartment in the city was stormed by around 30 heavily armed officers, including members of the Cobra special unit, who pointed weapons at the residents and forced a half-naked woman to the floor. Cell phones and clothing were confiscated.

The police were particularly looking for people who organised a counter-action against the annual Academic Ball. The ball brings together student associations (“Burschenschafts”) which are conservative or far-right. Some of these associations advocate the unification of Austria with Germany and restoration of the German Reich—which is explicitly forbidden by the Austrian constitution and was one of the conditions for ending the occupation of Austria by the Allied forces after World War II.

Every February, the Burschenschafts celebrate the Academic Ball in a building on the main square of Graz, protected by the Austrian police while protesters take to the streets. The recent crackdown followed the seemingly bizarre case of one 60-year-old member of the Burschenschafts claiming to have had a hat stolen and being pushed to the ground. No hat has come to light and it seems likely that the member in question may have been drunk.

This hasn’t prevented the Austrian police from charging at least two of the arrested anti-fascists with ‘aggravated robbery’ in association with a ‘criminal organisation’, which could carry a 15 year prison sentence. This is despite the former charge requiring an intent to enrich oneself, which is blatantly not the case.

Their defence lawyer, Florian Dablander, sees the action as a “criminalisation of anti-fascism.” Using the construct of a ‘criminal organisation’—a law otherwise used against organised crime—authorities in Austria can order special surveillance measures and expand investigations to include the suspects’ circles.

This could also be the purpose of the harsh repression, Dablander suspects. Burschenschafts are a very prominent element on the Austrian right-wing scene. More than 30 top politicians of the right-wing FPÖ party, which won the Austrian elections this year, were former members of Burschenschafts. In Styria, the Austrian State in which Graz is located, the governor is a member of the FPÖ. “One has to ask whether certain internal groupings have formed within the security apparatus”, said the defence lawyer.

The arrestees remain in custody.