Asylum seekers deported because of being suspected of criminal offence

Alert DateJanuary 7, 2008 Country: Austria Address: Vienna General Type: Racist discourse, Discrimination, Institutional discrimination Racism and discrimination phenomena: Anti-migrant/xenophobia
Groups affected / Interested in: Migrants Key socio-economic/institutional areas: Policing - law enforcement
Victims Data
Victims Nationality/Ethnic Origin N/A
Victims Gender N/A
Victims Age N/A
Victims Number 18
Fatalities - deaths N/A
Perpetrators Data
Perpetrators Nationality/Ethnic Origin Austrian
Perpetrator Gender Male
Perpetrator Age 56-65
Perpetrators Number 1
Extremist/Organised Group Violence No

On January 7th, 2008 at the request of the - meanwhile deceased - governor of Carinthia Jörg Haider of the BZÖ (Future Alliance Austria) three families (18 applicants for asylum from Chechnya, among them children and an infant of five months) were – by force and without legal justification - transferred from the town of Villach to the Federal Refugee Center in Traiskirchen in January. Three underage juveniles of the families were alleged to have been involved in a fight on New Year’s Eve.
Governor Haider subsequently demanded that provinces be independently authorized to deport asylum-seekers suspected of criminal offence back to their home country without having to await final conviction. On January 18, 2008 Haider declared, via a press release, that he had called on the residents of Villach by direct mail to immediately report to him “acts of violence committed by asylum seekers”, in order for them to be “instantaneously deported”.
Shortly afterwards, it was revealed that two of the young Chechens initially blamed for the fight had in fact nothing to do with it. On April 29, 2008 the third of the young Chechens ordered out of the province by Haider was proved not guilty of personal injury. Investigations of malpractice on the part of Haider were announced, yet did not materialise into an actual procedure.

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