This article about the controversial imprisonment of 5 foreigners with violent backgrounds was published in the Austrian Times three days before Haider's fatal accident. I've added it to the discussion thread as a possible piece of the puzzle.
GE
--- Forwarded Message ---
07. 10. 08. - 12:00
Haider defends isolated criminal asylum camp
Carinthian BZÖ Governor Jörg Haider has confirmed that five adult refugees are currently being kept in a "special camp" for presumably-violent asylum seekers in Carinthia.
Human rights experts on Tuesday expressed concern about the special facility in Saualm alp, Völkermarkt District.
The building houses five men - three Georgians, one Kazakh and one Gambian - but has a capacity of 50 and has been in use for about a week, his office said. were
Haider said on Monday that the facility in a former childrens' home was a security measure to protect the people of Carinthia. "With this security precaution, we are protecting the Carinthian population," he said at a news conference on Monday. He added that the number of criminal asylum seekers was on the rise. Carinthia currently has about 900 asylum seekers.
The men are accused of various offences including property damage, grievous bodily harm and drug-smuggling. Some of them allegedly have hepatitis.
Haider's spokesman Stefan Petzner said that the camp, at an altitude of 1,200 metres, was "meant only for criminals" and not for sick people.
The "Asylkoordination Österreich" association has criticised Haider for "using defamatory speech" and "playing with links to the Nazis' policy of extermination."
Conviction was not a "mandatory prerequisite" for being sent to the facility, Haider's spokesman Stefan Petzner said. The inmates would be "under constant observation so that no criminal acts can be committed," he added.
But he said no one's rights were being violated.
http://www.austriantimes.at/index.php?id=8982
