Austria reports record high in far-right crimes: sharp rise online and on streets
Right-wing extremist crimes in Austria jumped by more than 40% in the first half of 2025, reaching a new record level, according to Interior Ministry data released Thursday.
In response to a parliamentary inquiry by Social Democratic lawmaker Sabine Schatz, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said 787 crimes with a right-wing extremist background were registered in the first six months of this year. That represents a 41.5% increase compared with 556 cases in the same period in 2024, which had already marked a record high. The ministry said 91% of perpetrators were men. Among the offences, 21 were classified as anti-Semitic and 11 as Islamophobic.
Vienna topped the list with 236 cases, followed by Upper Austria with 171 and Lower Austria with 103. About 27% of all right-wing extremist crimes occurred online, according to the ministry’s response. “The current figures once again underscore the worrying trend of recent years. We have a problem with a massive rise in right-wing extremism, both online and on the streets. It is particularly worrying that young people are increasingly becoming the target of right-wing extremist agitation,” Schatz said in a press release.
“To counteract this development, a comprehensive package of measures is needed, including prevention programs in schools and youth facilities, increased support for victims, strategies to combat online hate, and an exit program”, the politician continued. Schatz added that a national action plan promised in the government’s coalition agreement is “being worked on intensively.”
Austria has been governed by a three-party coalition of the conservative People’s Party (OVP), the Social Democrats (SPO) and the liberal Neos since March 2025. The far-right Freedom Party (FPO), which won the largest share of votes in the September 2024 elections with 28.8%, remains outside the coalition.
Austria agrees on headscarf ban for students under 14
Austria’s Integration, Family and EU Affairs Minister Claudia Plakolm announced Wednesday that the government agreed to a headscarf ban for children under 14 in schools. Plakolm announced after a Cabinet meeting that the ban will take effect in the fall.
She noted that it would cover public and private schools, underlining that non-compliance would lead to a meeting with the family, followed by fines of EUR 150 to EUR 1,000 for parents. Asked why students can wear a cross but not a headscarf, Plakolm argued the headscarf is a “symbol of oppression,” unlike the kippah or the cross.
She said the state’s duty is to ensure girls grow up free to make their own choices, stressing that schools must be safe spaces for development where nothing should hinder that. The Islamic Religious Community in Austria (IGGO) criticised the decision, noting that all efforts beforehand to work toward a constitutional solution were ignored.
“Headscarf ban is symbolic politics at the expense of children and democracy,” it said in a statement. It warned that the decision would erode trust in the rule of law and threaten social cohesion, while stigmatising and marginalising children instead of empowering them. Austria’s Constitutional Court struck down a headscarf ban in 2020, partly because it targeted Muslims.
If you claim to remove all relegious symbols then all are included. This is Isalmophopia
“Plakolm argued the headscarf is a “symbol of oppression,” unlike the kippah or the cross.”
Being a misister is not a place to present your personal opinion, but equality between all people!!!
Such disgusting person.