On Friday morning, the general practitioner Lisa-Maria K. was found dead in her practice, as the public prosecutor’s office in Wels confirmed to the Upper Austria News. Farewell letters had been found, but no one wanted to say anything about their content. Third-party negligence is ruled out, and an autopsy has not been ordered.
At the end of June, the doctor “closed her practice in Seewalchen am Attersee until further notice”. In mid-July, she announced that she did not want to reopen. “The working conditions we have experienced in the past few months cannot be expected of anyone,” she wrote on her website as a reason. According to her own statements, she had received death threats by email from opponents of vaccination at irregular intervals for “seven months” – and also published them.
Police are investigating against unknown perpetrators
The public prosecutor’s office in Wels dropped the preliminary investigation against a suspect in June. A German hacker activist claims to have found a man who is said to have written the threatening emails. Christoph Weber, spokesman for the Wels public prosecutor’s office, said in early July that a complaint would be filed with the competent German authority and the names of the suspects would be sent to them.
In Austria, the police continue to investigate unknown perpetrators because it can be assumed that the allegations affect several people, according to the investigators. The death of the woman does not change anything in these investigations, one is still waiting for the final report from the police, according to a spokeswoman for the public prosecutor’s office.
Mourners in front of the Ministry
Health Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens), whose resignation the doctor had called for two days ago, was dismayed at the news of the doctor’s death: She “devoted her life to the health and well-being of others. Death threats against her and her employees were brutal reality . Hate against people is inexcusable. This hate has to stop,” he wrote on Twitter. Mourners gathered in front of the Ministry of Health in Vienna on Friday afternoon to commemorate the deceased doctor.
The Austrian Medical Association was “deeply shocked” by the news of the colleague’s death. This tragic event would show in a frightening way what consequences hate can have on the Internet, said the President of the Medical Association, Johannes Steinhart, in a broadcast. Medical staff in hospitals and surgeries have been exposed to ever-increasing violence for a long time. The current tragic case shows once again the need for support for healthcare workers, both in terms of direct protection and offers of supervision and crisis management in the event of threats. “Our thoughts are now with the relatives and friends of the colleague, to whom I express my deepest sympathy on behalf of the Austrian medical profession,” said Steinhart.
The journalist Ingrid Brodnig tweeted condolences: “The executive should also have to clarify their own actions or non-actions in this case.” In the course of the investigation, the police were criticized for not having done enough. A spokesman for the state police headquarters in Upper Austria rejected this to the APA: They had been in constant contact with the doctor since November and had tried to offer her protection. They have “done everything that is possible”, both in terms of security and what concerns the investigation. The latter are still ongoing, he confirmed.
A commemoration event is planned for Monday in Vienna. Daniel Landau, organizer and initiator of #YesWeCare, announced on Twitter that he had registered an event for 8 p.m. at Stephansplatz.
Are you in a desperate situation and need help? Talk to other people about it. This offers help for people with suicidal thoughts and their relatives Department of Health Suicide Prevention Portal. Here you can find contact details of aid organizations in Austria. Information for young people is available at www.bittelebe.at
Source: Nachrichten
