Country Report on Terrorism 2023 - Chapter 1 - Austria

Overview:  U.S.-Austria cooperation on law enforcement and judicial counterterrorism continued to develop, as Austria worked toward finishing the implementation of 2021 reforms that replaced the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counterterrorism, Austria’s key CT agency within the Interior Ministry, with the Directorate for State Security and Intelligence (DSN).  The trial of the accomplices to the 2020 Vienna terrorist attack yielded four convictions in 2023.

Overall, Austrian officials note that “Islamist terrorist” mobilization substantially declined after 2015.  However, in a report published in 2023, DSN noted that authorities were observing an increase in both Islamist and “right-wing extremist” activity.

2023 Terrorist Incidents:  On August 18, two pipe bombs were placed under vehicles belonging to Jehovah’s Witnesses in the town of Leibnitz. They only partially detonated and did not result in injuries.

Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security:  There were no changes in 2023.  Austrian law-enforcement and judicial authorities continue to conduct counterterrorism investigations in close coordination with local authorities.  Austria’s security and intelligence services lack the authority to conduct electronic surveillance in national security matters.

Significant law-enforcement actions against terrorists and terrorist groups in 2023 included the following:

• In June, authorities detained three Austrian citizens ages 14, 17, and 20 for allegedly planning a terrorist attack on the Vienna Pride Parade.
• On December 7, police arrested a 16-year-old in the city of Steyr, Upper Austria, on suspicion of planning an attack on a Vienna synagogue.  Authorities uncovered ISIS propaganda, videos, and weapon and bomb making information on hard drives confiscated during the arrest.
• On December 23, police arrested five individuals in connection with a New Year’s Eve threat against St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna.
• Trials related to the 2020 terrorist attack in Vienna continue to yield verdicts. Investigators determined that the terrorist, who was killed during the attack, acted alone but received support from other ISIS sympathizers.  Two defendants received life sentences in 2023 as accomplices to murder.  Two other defendants in 2023 were sentenced to 19 and 20 years, respectively, in prison.

Austria continues to investigate those suspected of promoting racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism and has observed a further increase in radicalization of REMVE groups.

Austrian law enforcement and DSN officials cooperated with U.S. law enforcement in a range of areas, including joint investigations and enforcement operations.

Austria continues to implement UNSC resolutions on CT, as well as the Global Counterterrorism Forum Good Practices on Returning Families of FTFs.  Austrian law criminalizes “travel for terrorism purposes” with prison sentences of six months to five years and extends domestic jurisdiction to individuals in Austria who committed a crime abroad.

Temporary border checks with neighbor countries, introduced in 2016, are still in place with Hungary and Slovenia.  They were implemented to counter irregular migration.  Regulations allow border authorities to prevent minors from leaving Austria upon suspicion they would participate in foreign fighting activities.  Border security officials continued to make use of biographic and biometric screening at ports of entry.  Austrian privacy statutes limit the ability of authorities to fully utilize tools available through international cooperation.

Austria is a member of the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, which requires broad counterterrorism partnership, including routine information sharing and border screening cooperation.

Austrian authorities monitor an estimated 100 people who have returned from conflict zones. About 70 of them are believed still to be in Austria, and seven of them are serving prison sentences.

Countering the Financing of Terrorism:  Austria is a member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), and its Financial Intelligence Unit is a member of the Egmont Group.  There were no significant changes in 2023.

Countering Violent Extremism:  Austria’s national action plan on Extremism Prevention and Deradicalization calls for improved networking among law enforcement agencies and civil society; provision of exit programs for individuals radicalized to violence; decoupling of terrorism convicts from their terrorist communities; increased civics education in schools; counternarratives to violent radicalization myths; and inclusion of the findings of Austria’s Documentation Center of Political Islam, which was established in 2020.  As part of this effort, in 2023 Austria hosted the Vienna Forum on Countering Segregation and Extremism in the Context of Integration.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs continued its cooperation with the Muslim community to conduct information campaigns in mosques, community centers, and prisons.

International and Regional Cooperation:  Austria is a member of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS.  Within the Coalition, Austria is a member of the African Focus Group to defeat terrorism in western Africa and the working groups on Foreign Terrorist Fighters and Stabilization.  Austria has contributed significant humanitarian assistance and stabilization funding for Defeat-ISIS efforts.

In 2023, Austria initiated annual counterterrorism consultations with Türkiye.  Austria participates in Eurojust’s EU-wide register, which lists ongoing terrorism investigations by EU member states.

Austria is a member of the following international organizations with a CT focus:

• The UN
• The EU
• The Council of Europe
• The OSCE
• The Salzburg Forum (Ministers of Interior from Central Europe)
• The Central European Initiative
• The Western Balkans Counter Terrorism Initiative