Immediately before the Vienna Rainbow Parade began, the police arrested three suspects on Saturday. They are said to have planned an attack on the event where around 300,000 people demonstrated for LGBTQ rights.
According to the Austrian authorities, they have foiled a planned attack on the rainbow parade in Vienna. Three suspects aged 14, 17 and 20 were arrested on Saturday just before the start of the parade, according to the head of the Austrian state security DSN, Omar Haijawi-Pirchner.
Suspects sympathize with “Islamic State”
Those arrested are Austrians of Bosnian or Chechen origin and have sympathized with the terrorist organization “Islamic State,” said Haijawi-Pirchner. According to the ORF, the secret service learned in advance about the suspects’ alleged plans and constantly monitored them. The suspects were arrested on the instructions of the St. Pölten public prosecutor’s office.
During raids in Vienna and Lower Austria, investigators confiscated numerous weapons and data carriers. The three suspects exchanged extremist material online, the Ministry of the Interior in Vienna said. They would have focused on the Pride parade for sexual diversity as a possible target and planned an attack with knives or vehicles. One of the suspects was already known to the authorities in connection with terrorism investigations.
Organizer only informed on Sunday
There were concrete preparatory actions, said Haijawi-Pirchner. However, due to the close monitoring of the trio, there was no danger to the 300,000 visitors to the parade. According to ORF, the organizers of the rainbow parade were only informed on Sunday. The authorities wanted to avoid panic, especially since the suspects were already in custody, it said.
The rainbow parade on Vienna’s Ringstrasse once again set an example for the rights of LGBTIQ people. The train took place for the 27th time. The participants in such events in particular always represented an intense enemy image for many “Islamist or right-wing extremist scenes,” said the head of the Vienna State Police, Gerhard Pürstl.