Two members of the Catholic student fraternity Rudolfina Wien were assaulted, robbed and seriously injured during an attack in Innsbruck in which the perpetrators allegedly shouted “Antifa”. The Austrian Cartell Association (ÖCV) condemned the incident as part of a broader pattern of hostility and violence targeting Catholic and conservative student associations.
The Austrian Cartell Association (ÖCV) condemned a violent attack against two members of the Catholic student fraternity Rudolfina Wien during the Pennälertag gathering of the Middle School Cartel Association (MKV) in Innsbruck.
According to the ÖCV, the two students were verbally abused, robbed and then physically assaulted, suffering serious injuries that required hospital treatment. Witnesses reportedly stated that the attackers shouted “Antifa” during the assault.
ÖCV President Andre Stecher described the attack as unprovoked and said it reflected a wider climate of hostility toward Catholic and conservative student groups. “For years, we have been experiencing an increasingly aggressive social climate in which violence against dissenters is relativized or tacitly tolerated by some - especially when this violence is directed against conservative or Catholic groups,” says Stecher.
The organisation called for the perpetrators to face criminal prosecution and urged civil society to take a clear stance against political extremism and ideological violence.