Austria: Massive State Repression against Animal Rights

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Forwarding message.

 

Dear colleagues,

 

after many years of achieving successful reforms to Austrian animal

welfare the Austrian animal-rights-movement has been dealt a massive

blow by a police raids on May 21th. Ten people were arrested on that

day, and remain, to this day in remand custody without any specific

charges having been made against them. They are suspected of belonging

to a criminal organisation, §278a of the Austrian criminal code. No

evidence has been brought by the prosecution which could substantiate

this claim: many of the ten have had no contact with each other before

or do not even know each other.

 

The animal welfare movement in Austria has achieved a great deal for

animals in the last years. The success list includes a ban on fur

farms, a ban on wild animals in circuses, a ban on caged rabbits used

for meat and a total ban on battery cages for laying hens. Austria has

become a leading country in animal welfare worldwide, obviously too

successful for some lobbies and this repression against the movement

now seems to be the punishment for this success.

 

More information on

 

- http://www.vgt.at/index_en.php

- http://www.wikileaks.org/wiki/User:Austrian_Atrocities

 

and much more (for those of you speaking German) at

 

- http://www.vgt.at/index.php

 

 

WHAT CAN YOU DO:

- support us with the actions listed here:

http://www.vgt.at/hinweise/20080527Repression/index_en.php

- write to the Austrian embassy in your country and let us know when

they reply - tell the media in your country to write about repression

in Austria - contact celebrities and ask them voice their concern

about the misuse of the law and infringement of civil liberties being

used to repress social activism in Austria

 

Best wishes,

 

Maria Griebl

Association Against Animal Factories

vgt