A prisoner who escaped in Vienna is considered a suspected IS supporter

The prisoner, who, as reported, escaped during a hospital appointment in Vienna-Leopoldstadt on Friday afternoon, is, according to recent, trustworthy information from the APA, a suspected supporter of the radical Islamist terrorist militia “Islamic State” (IS). The 20-year-old is being investigated for being a terrorist organization (§278b StGB). There was no official confirmation of this on Friday evening; the Ministry of Justice continued to keep a low profile.

Information about Mahdy C.’s whereabouts, which will be treated confidentially, is requested from all police stations in the federal territory or from the State Office for State Security and Combating Extremism in Lower Austria, telephone number 059133-30-8333.

Moved due to illness

The man – reportedly an Austrian citizen with Tunisian roots – had been in custody at the Wiener Neustadt correctional facility (JA) for a few weeks and had been transferred to the Josefstadt correctional institution for reasons of illness, which, unlike Wiener Neustadt, has its own hospital ward gives. The Ministry of Justice did not want to reveal the reason for the man’s detention, even after repeated telephone and written inquiries.

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The 20-year-old was most recently in prison for robbery and assault. Immediately after his release in January, he was taken into custody. According to information from the APA, the reason for this was an urgent suspicion in connection with investigations into terrorist crimes. The reasons for detention were the risk of committing a crime and the risk of escape.

Further information about the young man who was wanted and further details about his escape from the Hospital of the Brothers of Mercy were not available on Friday evening. All judicial bodies as well as the press department of the religious hospital referred APA inquiries to the media office of the Ministry of Justice. The ministry of Alma Zadic (Greens) only stated to the APA late in the afternoon: “Since the inmate is a pre-trial prisoner, with a view to the presumption of innocence, the suspected accusation cannot be discussed in more detail.”

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All that was confirmed was that a prison guard was injured when the 20-year-old escaped. Interviews with employees are currently taking place to clarify the incident, it said.

“Official misconduct by individual employees”

In an initial statement to the APA, the Ministry of Justice spoke of indications “of official misconduct by individual employees” in connection with the escape. “The final assessment and any associated disciplinary steps remain subject to the results of the precise internal review that has already been initiated,” it continued. The ministry emphasized that the search was initiated immediately.

The police are searching for him with forces from the emergency response unit, the service dog department and WEGA. The search was still ongoing late in the afternoon, as a spokesman for the state police department explained.

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It was only in November that there were a series of escape attempts in Vienna and Lower Austria as part of escorts to medical appointments. In four out of five cases, the escaped prisoners were re-arrested by the police. A 35-year-old inmate at Stein Prison, however, is still on the run.

The ministry responded with 21 raids on institutions and a round table where it was decided to tighten security measures. The General Directorate had given all prisons instructions to tie the arms of prisoners behind their bodies during medical escorts in the future, the APA was told at the time. The prisons were also informed at the time that appointments in hospitals could only be carried out under special precautions until further notice.

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