White supremacist suspect visited Austria, donated money to Austrian anti-immigration Identitarian Movement in 2018.
Austria’s Chancellor Sebastian Kurz says there is a link between a far-right movement in his country and the suspect in the attack on two mosques in New Zealand in which 50 Muslims were shot dead.
“It has been confirmed that there is a financial link between the man who perpetrated the attack in New Zealand and the Identitarian Movement in Austria,” Kurz told reporters following a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
On Monday, the Identitarian Movement spokesperson Martin Sellner’s home was searched as part of an investigation into possible links to the suspect, who entered the Al Noor and Linwood mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand and shot worshippers in cold blood, including four children.
The suspect, a 28-year-old white supremacist identified as Australian-born Brenton Tarrant, donated 1,500 euros ($1,700) to the anti-immigration Identitarian Movement in early 2018, according to Austrian prosecutors.
Sellner denies having had any link with the suspect beyond receiving the donation and having sent back a routine thank-you email.
Austria’s intelligence body also said the suspect visited Austria last November.
Kurz stressed that any kind of violent racism would not be tolerated in Austria, adding that perpetrators would be dealt with according to the law.
There is “no tolerance for dangerous ideologies, no matter what political corner they belong to,” the conservative leader told reporters after a cabinet meeting in Vienna.
He also said the link would be investigated thoroughly and that he had talked to interior and justice ministers about dissolving the far-right Identitarian Movement.
“Both ministries will mobilise all their means against this movement,” he added.
The Identitarian Movement is known for its anti-migrant and anti-Muslim stance.
