To Afghanistan

Rapist returns home after seven years in prison

Now another criminal has been removed from the country. (Symbolic image)(Bild: BMI/Gerd Pachauer, Krone KREATIV)

On Tuesday night, a convicted Afghan criminal left Austria – at his own request. The 30-year-old thus avoided serving time in prison and was taken out of the country immediately after serving his sentence. Before that, however, he spent seven of his ten years behind bars here at the taxpayer's expense...

The man was convicted four times in this country, including for rape, attempted rape, grievous bodily harm, and making dangerous threats. In addition, his criminal record shows twelve entries by the criminal investigation department, according to reports. He is subject to a valid entry and residence ban.

Independent controlled departure
As the Ministry of the Interior announced on Tuesday, the Afghan made use of the option of "independent controlled departure." What this means in concrete terms is that after serving half of his prison sentence, he was allowed to leave his cell, board a plane, and fly to Kabul, where he landed during the night. In his luggage: 900 euros in "pocket money" (the maximum amount, according to reports).

I say quite clearly: convicted criminals must leave Austria!

Gerhard Karner, Innenminister (ÖVP)

Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH

Now another criminal has been removed from the country. (Symbolic image)(Bild: BMI/Gerd Pachauer, Krone KREATIV)

The man fled to Austria at the age of 20: in the end, not much remained of his integration and adaptation. Instead of attending German classes, he sat in the dock. The 30-year-old has changed his "residential addresses" three times in the past seven years: All of them are notorious: Sonnberg Prison, Stein Prison – and finally Gerersdorf Prison. A costly accommodation. In 2024 alone, one prisoner cost 186 euros per day – that's almost 70,000 euros for a year!

Just a week ago, an Afghan repeat offender was deported from Austria via Istanbul directly to Kabul. The 33-year-old was handed over to the relevant authorities there by representatives of the Austrian authorities. He, too, had spent around half of his time in Austria in prison.

Further repatriations planned
Interior Minister Gerhard Karner once again reaffirmed the course of action: "Convicted criminals must leave Austria." The current repatriation is one of a series of similar cases that the "Krone" has reported on several times in recent months. Last year, around 3,300 criminals had to leave the country – that's ten per day! Further repatriations are to follow ...