ISIS Sympathisers Plotted to Attack Vienna Pride, Cops Say

Police in Austria say they have arrested three alleged ISIS sympathisers who they believe were planning an attack on Vienna’s annual Pride parade over the weekend.

The male suspects – two brothers aged 17 and 20, and a third suspect aged just 14 – were arrested by special forces an hour ahead of the start of Saturday’s Pride event, according to Omar Haijawi-Pirchner the head of Austria’s State Protection and Intelligence Directorate.

He told a press conference on Sunday that the domestic intelligence service had received advance information on the group’s alleged plans, which are believed to have involved a possible car or knife attack against the parade. State security officials kept the suspects under close surveillance, before special forces arrested them following searches on Saturday that uncovered further evidence, including weapons.

Haijawi-Pirchner said that there was no danger for the estimated 300,000 people attending the Pride parade at any time, and that, while there had been an earlier discussion among security officials over whether to cancel the event, they were confident that it wasn’t necessary because the suspects had no other accomplices. The organisers of the parade were only informed of the alleged plot on Sunday, after it had gone ahead.

The three suspects, who remain under arrest, were already on the radar of security services for belonging to the radical Islamist scene. One had previously been investigated for suspected membership of a terrorist organisation, although prosecutors did not pursue the case. 

The two eldest suspects are Austrian citizens of Bosnian descent, while the youngest is an Austrian of Chechan descent; all were radicalised online, said Haijawi-Pirchner. "The group of Islamists is getting bigger and younger," he said.

Vienna’s chief of police Gerhard Pürstl told reporters that the alleged plot reflected the growing extremist threat to the LGBTQ community.

“For the LGBTQ community, many Islamic as well as right-wing extremists represent an intense enemy, which is clear from the violent crimes that have been committed during events in the past across the world, as well as in Europe.”

On Twitter, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer expressed his appreciation to the security services for foiling a possible attack.

“Extremism – whether from the left, right or with an Islamist background - has no place in our society and wants to destroy our peaceful coexistence,” Nehammer said. “We as a society must defend ourselves in a resilient and robust manner and nip any form of extremism in the bud.”

The parade organisers were unbowed by the alleged plot.

“We will not let the enemies of rights for LGBTQI people, democracy and an open society get us down,” the parade’s organising team said in a statement, the Austrian Press Agency reported.