An all-inclusive club for terrorists? The Karlau prison in Graz, Austria

The conditions in the Graz-Karlau prison are almost unbelievable from the point of view of a law-abiding taxpayer.Nobody wonders anymore why Austria is an extremely popular destination for serial criminal immigrants. An Islamist terrorist had the opportunity to conduct terrorist attacks from prison and to carry out Islamist propaganda via cell phone.The security precautions in the Karlau prison in Graz give reason to be astonished. A 21-year-old Islamist terrorist had the opportunity to secretly build a terrorist cell with two fellow prisoners.Head of the terrorist cell was Lorenz K., who established a terrorist organization with the so-called “Palestinian” Abu H. (30 years old) and the Islamist Sergo P. The “Palestinian”, a member of the left-wing terrorist organization Hamas, is serving a life sentence for planning the mass murder of Jews. He wanted to throw hand grenades into a crowd.Left-wing radicals describe the verdict on their Internet pages as an unjust verdict and even held rallies for the man’s release.Together with this murderous buddies, Lorenz K., who had sworn loyalty to the Islamic state, managed to organize cell phones, electronic parts and even cartridge cases from prison. While he used the telephone to incite Islamists who were at large to commit terrorist attacks and to send plans for the construction of explosives and bombs, he apparently also tinkered with an explosive device in prison itself.Sergo P. belongs to the group of perpetrators who planned a series of attacks in Austria. Among other things, a bomb was supposed to detonate at the Christmas market on Vienna’s Stephansplatz. He shared a cell phone with Lorenz K., which they used for active terror propaganda. Thus, execution videos of the Islamic state but also photos from the prison were distributed. On one of these photos, a flag of the Islamic state was also supposed to have been seen, the possession of which apparently caused no further stir in the prison. According to the newspaper Heute, this flag was always visible on the wall of his cell. In addition, an oath of allegiance to the leader of the IS was allegedly recorded and sent out to Internet chat partners via Instagram and Telegram to incite terrorist attacks in Germany or Austria. They should “attack the kuffar undercover”.Lorenz K. also sent a photo of a nail bomb. This is supposed to be the type of bomb with which he planned an Islamist suicide bombing together with his wife, who was 16 years old at the time, before his arrest. Contact persons outside the prison had paid for the Islamists’ constant access to cell phones. One of them cost 800 euros and would have been smuggled into the prison in a piece of bread. The defense attorney for the main perpetrator, Wolfgang Blaschitz, sees the suspicion as “far-fetched”. His client would commit “notoriously naive acts”. He had already attracted attention in the initial proceedings against Lorenz K. because of his great creativity. The Islamist would be “a disoriented youth who needs to be reintegrated into society”.The public prosecutor’s office seems to have a different approach here. According to the daily Standard, investigations are currently underway “for attempted murder and attempted deliberate use of explosive devices, both committed as terrorist offences”. The original prison sentence of 9 years is likely to be extended considerably in the end. Freedom Party Styria state leader Stefan Hermann already asked the only appropriate questions via press release on August 12: “How an imprisoned IS terrorist in prison can access a smartphone is incomprehensible to the Freedom Party. The present case in the Graz-Karlau prison reveals the enormous potential danger posed by radical Islam.Even already convicted and imprisoned terrorists are not discouraged from making every effort to plan attacks and have them carried out by IS sympathizers throughout Europe. There is no question that these extremists represent a massive threat to our population. The only question is whether these terrorists will actually receive the punishment they deserve. Obviously they still have too many freedoms in our prisons. How else can it be that an imprisoned jihadist can get to a smartphone with which he can continue to engage in terrorist activity? Islamists must expect the harshest punishments – stricter criminal law provisions against radical Islam are the order of the day,” Mr. Hermann demanded specifically.

wochenblick.at/justizanstalt-graz-karlau-all-inclusive-club-fuer-terroristen/