No fewer than 15 people have been arrested in Austria and Slovakia accused of hate crimes aimed at the gay community, according to state police in southern Austria.
On Friday morning, over 400 police operative conducted raids on behalf of the Graz public prosecutor’s office.
They detained 12 males and three women aged 14 to 26, who are accused of enticing people, many of whom are LGBT, to distant regions with phoney social media accounts, then beating them up and photographing them.
“The group claimed that its actions were aimed at paedophiles,” Styria state police wrote on their X page. “In reality, the increasingly brutal acts were directed against the homosexual community.”
In May 2024, the culprits began attracting people through their social media profiles. According to police, the individuals “acted under the guise of vigilantism.”
According to investigators, masked guys met misled persons in rural locations and then recorded themselves assaulting, robbing, and abusing the victims. They subsequently shared the footage with online communities.
They said at least 17 cases have been uncovered, with one being investigated for attempted murder.
Police fear there may be additional unreported incidents.
Officers raided 23 residences in Austria and neighbouring Slovakia. Of the 15 men and women arrested, 11 were Austrians, one was Croatian, one was German, one was Romanian, and one was Slovakian.
Austrian media reportedly stated that operatives discovered weapons and Nazi memorabilia during residence inspections.
According to authorities, Austrian special forces are collaborating with police and prosecutors in seven states around the country, although there is “no concrete threat to the public.”
