Amnesty accuses Austrian police of racism

Veronika Oleksyn
AP
April 9

Immigrants and ethnic minorities living in Austria are more likely to be suspected of crimes than whites and are regularly denied their right to equal treatment by the country's police and judicial system, Amnesty International said Thursday.

In a report released in Vienna, the human rights watchdog also said Austrian authorities do not effectively investigate and punish racially motivated police misconduct.

"Amnesty International is concerned that the Austrian criminal justice as a whole, and the police in particular, are failing to provide the same level of service to foreign nationals and members of ethnic minorities as it routinely provides the Austrian citizens," the report said.

Based on case studies and interviews with lawyers, community leaders, justice system officials and others, the report also found that ethnic minorities in the Alpine republic are subject to a range of negative stereotypes and that these prejudices can impact the behavior of law enforcement officials.

"Amnesty International is concerned ... that in everyday practice skin color too often appears to constitute a determining ground for police interventions in Austria," the report said.

In particular, Amnesty said there was "considerable evidence" Austrian police has engaged in widespread discriminatory ethnic profiling over the past decade, particularly in its efforts to counter drug-related crime. Often, the targets are young black men, the group said.

"The majority of individuals of African origin that Amnesty International met with insisted that random identity checks, often involving searches, were still — despite a notable improvement over the last two years — a routine part of their existence," the report said.

Interior Ministry Rudolf Gollia acknowledged that there had been individual cases of police misconduct toward foreigners, but insisted it wasn't a widespread problem.

"We reject allegations of institutional discrimination or racism in Austria's police," Gollia said.

The report said Austrian law enforcement agencies often fail to give serious consideration to complaints from ethnic minorities and fail to investigate offenses against them effectively and impartially.

Two months ago, undercover police officers in Vienna attacked an American teacher they mistook for a drug dealer. Mike Brennan said he believed he was singled out because he's black.

Police acknowledged the mix-up, but the officers were not suspended.

"I'm concerned about the officers still working," the 34-year-old teacher told The Associated Press on Thursday, adding he was encouraged by Austrians who approached him on the street or in cafes to wish him well and apologize for what happened to him.

Heinz Patzelt, secretary general of Austria's chapter of Amnesty International, said it would be easy for Austrian authorities to quickly improve the situation — if they acknowledged that racial discrimination was widespread and not limited to individual cases.

"Racism is a cancer that will spread and spread if it is not diagnosed," Patzelt said.

Amnesty International - http://www.amnesty.org/