Image: APA
The chances that the right-wing extremist Gottfried Küssel, who has been convicted several times, will receive a passport are slim. The Vienna MA 62, to which Küssel applied to issue a passport, is skeptical about this request, as can be seen in two written statements that are available to the APA. However, the matter is still in the review stage and a final official decision has not yet been made, MA 62 said on Thursday afternoon.
As deputy department head Christian Ruzicka told the APA, the process is still ongoing. A decision can be expected “within the statutory deadline,” said Ruzicka.
In its statements, the passport authority refers to a provision in the Passport Act, which stipulates that an applicant for a passport must be refused the document if it can be assumed that a stay abroad would endanger Austria’s internal or external security. Küssel applied for a passport from MA 62 in mid-August 2023. In connection with his last – of a total of three – convictions for National Socialist re-activity, his passport and identity card were confiscated in the summer of 2016. The Administrative Court (VwGH) later confirmed this decision. When Küssel – a key figure in the neo-Nazi scene in German-speaking countries – was released from prison in January 2019 after serving seven years and nine months in prison, he had no opportunity to travel abroad legally.
Authority refers to past life and current behavior
From the point of view of MA 62, nothing is likely to change for the time being. The authority not only points to the passport applicant’s tarnished past, which suggests a threat to the security of the republic if he were to be allowed to travel abroad. In addition, the passport authority obtained a statement from the Directorate of State Security and Intelligence (DSN). It initially states that since spring 2020, Küssel has taken part in numerous events critical of the government, particularly those aimed at the Covid-19 measures. Especially at demonstrations in Eisenstadt he appeared as a “registrant and person responsible”: “At these rallies, among other things, conspiracy theory and anti-Semitic stories were propagated.”
In addition, Küssel coordinated with other organizers of anti-Covid-19 protests, whereby “violent actions were also considered or propagated,” the DSN notes. Küssel is also active on the Internet and in social media and stands out as a government critic and with right-wing radical views, “which, however, have not yet resulted in any complaints under the StGB (penal code, note) or VG (prohibition law, which makes National Socialist re-activity punishable.” represents, note) have led”. The fact that the man, who has been convicted several times in this direction, is still part of a right-wing network is undisputed, at least according to DSN: “Finally, it should be noted that Küssel has demonstrably maintained contacts with other people from the Austrian right-wing extremist scene over the last few years (especially since spring 2020).”
Lawyer: “outrageous”
For lawyer Michael Dohr, Küssel’s legal representative, it would be outrageous if MA 62 rejected the now 65-year-old. He has behaved well since his release: “He has experienced an intensive lifestyle and has been a law-abiding Austrian citizen for years now.” Küssel is therefore entitled to a passport “like all of his fellow citizens”. The fact that he was critical of the government because of the Covid-19 measures is not in itself suitable “to deny a law-abiding citizen the issuance of an ordinary passport”. At no time did Küssel propagate violent actions and he was not involved in the considerations of opponents of the measures. Rather, Küssel is particularly concerned about “a peaceful approach,” emphasizes Dohr in a detailed submission to MA 62. In addition, the lawyer assures that his client uses the Internet “exclusively within the framework of the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of expression.”
Dohr confirmed to the APA that he would continue to campaign for a passport for Küssel – who has recently become an ASVG pensioner. An attitude that is merely critical of the government should not be suitable for denying someone a travel document: “Otherwise we would have authoritarian conditions, which fortunately are not to be expected in a democratic republic.”
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Source: Nachrichten
