Austria Divided over Migrant Violence Data

Austria has been shaken by controversy over violence against women and girls committed by men with residency status. Figures from the interior ministry, released following a parliamentary question by the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), show that more than 2,000 female victims and more than 1,900 male suspects were registered last year.

According to the statistics, women were victims of almost six attacks a day. Syrian nationals were the most frequently registered suspects, followed by Afghans, Serbs and Turks.

The debate has been further inflamed by a recent case in Vienna, in which an Afghan pizza delivery worker was sentenced to life imprisonment for attempting an so-called honor killing of his 15-year-old daughter.

FPÖ Secretary General Michael Schnedlitz accused the Austrian People's Party (OVP) of "show politics", saying the government was using individual deportations as a publicity tool while overall migrant arrivals continued to rise.

The interior ministry countered that asylum seekers account for less than 2% of all violent crimes, while the People's Party accused the FPÖ of misusing the statistics for political ends.

(krone, bak)