Austrian authorities to jail convicted terrorists indefinitely

Austria is to introduce new measures to enable convicted terrorists to be jailed indefinitely if they are considered a threat to society.

The move is part of a new anti-terror package announced by the Austrian government on Wednesday in response to last week’s Islamic State attack in Vienna.

The measures also include electronic tagging for terrorists released from prison, stricter gun laws and a new law to criminalise the encouragement of Islamic extremism.

Sebastian Kurz, the Austrian chancellor, said the measures were intended to protect society from extremists he described as “ticking time bombs”.

“If a mentally disturbed criminal can be locked up for life because he is a threat to society, then a terrorist who poses a threat can also be locked up for life,” he said.

Under the new measures, courts would be given the authority to hand down whole-life tariffs for convicted terrorists or to order them to be held until they were no longer a danger to society.

Kujtim Fejzulai, the gunman who murdered four people and injured 22 in Vienna last week, was jailed last year for attempting to travel to Syria to join Isil but released early after convincing authorities he had been deradicalised.

Source: Kalei Style Guide