Establishing the crime of political Islam in an attempt to protect his state from possible dangers deriving from religious radicalism and international terrorism of a jihadist matrix, this is the declared objective of the Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz.
The reform package announced by the leader of the People’s Party comes about a week after the terrorist attack that hit the heart of the capital Vienna, with an overall toll of 5 dead and 23 wounded. The aim of the planned measures, which should be adopted starting next December, is to counteract all kinds of extremism, starting with the Islamic one. “This is not a fight between Christians and Muslims or between Austrians and migrants. This is a fight between the many people who believe in peace and the few who want war”, he has tweeted the Austrian Chancellor, introducing some key points of the reforms.
In Austria, therefore, it will take shape“the crime of ‘Political Islam’ to be able to proceed against those who are not terrorists, but who create their fertile ground “, explained Sebastian Kurz. These measures will also include “an extension of the possibilities to close places of worship”, where there are threats or risks of infiltration, and the introduction of a real register of imams widespread in the country, as well as a strong tightening on the laws concerning associations and symbols. As announced again on Twitter, a fundamental aspect of the fight against Islamic extremism will be that of adopting measures capable of “drying up the financial flows in support of terrorism”.
As also relaunched by the main national media, there is also talk of the possibility of introducing a life sentence, of revoking the Austrian citizenship of convicts and of using the electronic surveillance tool after a possible release. Furthermore, with the introduction of the crime of political Islam, an ad hoc anti-terrorism prosecutor will be established.
“As long as they are not de-radicalized and even if they have served their sentence, we will create the possibility of imprisoning these people to protect the population”Sebastian Kurz himself explained to reporters. “For those who have just been released, there will be electronic surveillance. This is a strong interference, but in my opinion it is a necessary step to minimize the threat for our population “, concluded the chancellor.
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