Derad exit raises concern over prison deradicalisation gap

The end of a government partnership with the Derad association has raised concern about a gap in support for incarcerated and released Islamists in Salzburg, ORF reported. The Justice Ministry plans to form multidisciplinary teams, but says building the structures will take time.

Derad stopped working with Islamist inmates at Puch-Urstein prison in Hallein after the government ended its cooperation with the association in late August over security concerns. The association had supported about 200 people there.

Tilmann Schaible, a former specialist inspector for Islamic religious education in Salzburg, criticised the decision. He said experts were needed to help inmates, including young people, reintegrate into society, and warned that a gap in support could cause problems.

Schaible also said it was concerning that divisions were being created rather than making use of the existing opportunity to provide support.

Before the cooperation ended, authorities had received numerous indications that people linked to Derad might have connections to the Muslim Brotherhood. In early September, State Protection and Intelligence Directorate head Sylvia Mayer said the concerns were based on a “multidimensional approach to intelligence” and referred to information about links between various people in the association and structures of legalistic Islamism.

Mayer said the directorate conducts security checks at the request of relevant authorities. She said the law requires the security service to inform the requesting authority, in this case the Justice Ministry, when its findings raise concerns.