Austria
Austria regularly reports hate crime data to ODIHR. Implemented in 2021, Austria's new hate crime recording system represents a good practice in the region. The Austrian Ministry of the Interior is also a member of the civil society network "Hate Crime Kontern", which strengthens hate crime co-ordination and victim support, and cooperates directly with civil society organizations. Hate crime statistics collected by the Ministry are published online each year.
In January 2023, Austria implemented ODIHR's Diagnostic Workshop to Assess National Structures and Services for Hate Crime Victim Support.
OFFICIAL DATA REPORTED BY STATES
| Year | Hate crimes recorded by police | Prosecuted | Sentenced |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 6,786 | 3,209 | 380 |
| 2023 | 5,668 | 2,755 | 246 |
| 2022 | 5,865 | 3,035 | 272 |
| 2021 | 5,464 | 4,304 | 184 |
| 2020 | 156 | 436 | 169 |
| 2019 | 125 | 421 | 191 |
| 2018 | 307 | 407 | 208 |
| 2017 | 302 | Not available | Not available |
| 2016 | 425 | Not available | Not available |
| 2015 | 395 | Not available | Not available |
| 2014 | 186 | Not available | Not available |
| 2013 | 110 | Not available | Not available |
| 2012 | 91 | Not available | Not available |
| 2011 | 59 | 38 | 1 |
| 2010 | 101 | 1 | 1 |
| 2009 | 62 | Not available | Not available |
About 2024 Data
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Police records represent the number of offences recorded as hate crimes; a total number of 6,786 cases were registered, some of which involved more than one bias motivation. The above police-recorded hate crime figure includes offences that fall outside of the OSCE definition of hate crime. These include cases defined as "right-wing extremism" under the Prohibition Act, so-called "honour crimes", and incitement to hatred, discrimination and violence.
Prosecution and sentencing figures are based on the same recording methodology as police-recorded figures. However, as the "hate crime" coding can only be applied to the whole proceeding, as opposed to individual prosecuted/sentenced offences, they may include some non-hate crime offences. Prosecution figures exclude 1,437 cases prosecuted under the Prohibition Act (§§ 3a-3h VerbotsG) and 199 cases of so-called "honour crimes" (§§ 111, 113, 115, and 116 StGB). Sentencing figures exclude 113 cases sentenced under the Prohibition Act (§§ 3a-3h VerbotsG) and 21 cases of "honour crimes" (§§ 111, 113, 115, and 116 StGB). All the excluded cases fall outside the OSCE hate crime definition.
Hate crime recorded by police
The number of police-recorded cases provided in the charts below refers to the number of bias motives and not the number of offences. This is why the numbers below do not match the total number of police-recorded cases in the table above. A total of 7,614 bias motives were originally recorded by the police. Of those, 4,143 bias motives associated with "right-wing extremism" crimes under the Prohibition Act, so-called "honour crimes" and incitement to hatred, discrimination and violence were excluded from ODIHR's report, as they fall outside the OSCE hate crime definition.
KEY OBSERVATION
ODIHR recognizes Austria's long-term efforts to improve its hate crime recording and data collection mechanism and to make use of the collected data as well as its hate crime victim support system. ODIHR observes that Austria would benefit from raising awareness among and building the capacity of criminal justice officials, including prosecutors and judges, to address hate crimes.
ODIHR recalls that in Ministerial Council Decision 9/09, OSCE participating States agreed to a common definition of hate crime and committed to collecting reliable data and statistics on such crimes. Participating States have also committed to introducing or further developing professional training and capacity-building activities for law enforcement, prosecution and judicial officials dealing with hate crimes. ODIHR stands ready to support Austria in meeting its relevant commitments through the provision of comprehensive resources and tailored assistance, including further resources and tailored capacity-building assistance for prosecution and the judiciary.
OVERVIEW OF INCIDENTS REPORTED BY CIVIL SOCIETY
For 2024, ODIHR received reports of hate incidents in Austria from the following civil society organizations:
- Antidiskriminierungsstelle Steiermark (Anti-Discrimination Office Styria)
- Documentation and Counselling Center Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim Racism (Dokustelle Austria)
- International Institute for Religious Freedom (IIRF)
- European Association of Jehovah's Witnesses
- Jewish Communities of Vienna (IKG Wien)
- The Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe (OIDAC)
- ZARA - Civil Courage and Anti-Racism Work
To learn more about these organizations, visit the Contributors page.All incidents submitted by the above organizations have been analysed by ODIHR. Those that were broadly considered to be hate crimes within the OSCE definition (criminal offence committed with a bias motive) are listed in the tables below according to the bias motivation category. Some incidents involved multiple biases and may be listed in multiple categories.
ODIHR’s insightsFor 2024, ODIHR received reports of 154 incidents that took place in Austria in the following eight bias motivation categories: racist and xenophobic, anti-Christian, anti-LGBTI, anti-Muslim, gender-based, anti-Roma, anti-Semitic, and disability. A large number were reported in the racist and xenophobic category, while a significant number of anti-Muslim, anti-Christian, and anti-Semitic incidents were reported. A smaller number of gender-based incidents were also reported. ODIHR observes that a significant number of anti-Black incidents reported in Austria targeted people due to their skin colour, including threats, harassing behaviour and physical assaults. Harassing behaviour perpetrated against migrants and refugees by their neighbours was also noted. ODIHR also observed several incidents targeting minors due to their ethnicity in a school setting. In addition, a number of incidents of neo-Nazi/swastika graffiti and anti-Muslim or racist graffiti were reported. The majority of anti-Christian incidents in Austria were property attacks, with the exception of incidents targeting representatives of the Jehovah’s Witness community, which also involved physical assaults and threats. Several anti-Muslim incidents specifically targeting women wearing a hijab were reported. Finally, ODIHR noted a number of incidents in which law enforcement officers committed racist incidents while on duty. It should be noted that ODIHR did not receive any reporting relating to hate incidents targeting other religions or beliefs in Austria, and very few incidents of anti-Roma or disability hate crimes. This indicates potential gaps in the information reported here. In addition, one reporting organization submitted 23 statistical incidents motivated by anti-Muslim bias, for which descriptions are not available in the tables below. |
Please note that incidents reported here are based on voluntary civil society submissions and as such might not reflect the actual number of incidents or the most targeted communities in Austria.
To address under-reporting, ODIHR encourages any civil society organizations or groups that monitor hate incidents in Austria to report these to ODIHR at hatecrimereport@odihr.pl.
To export an Excel sheet with summaries of all incidents from Austria click here and search by year and country.
CIVIL SOCIETY INCIDENT SUMMARIES
Racist and xenophobic hate crime
| Date | Type of incident | Source | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-05 | Violent attacks against people | Anti-Discrimination Office Styria
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| 2024-09 | Threats/Harassment | Dokustelle
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| 2024-10 | Threats/Harassment | Dokustelle
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| 2024-04 | Violent attacks against people | Dokustelle
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| 2024-01 | Attacks against property | ZARA
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| 2024-01 | Attacks against property | ZARA
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| 2024-02 | Attacks against property | ZARA
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| 2024-02 | Threats/Harassment | ZARA
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| 2024-03 | Violent attacks against people | ZARA
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| 2024-03 | Violent attacks against people | ZARA
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| 2024-02 | Violent attacks against people | ZARA
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| 2024-03 | Violent attacks against people | ZARA
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| 2024-03 | Violent attacks against people | ZARA
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| 2024-03 | Attacks against property | ZARA
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| 2024-03 | Violent attacks against people | ZARA
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| 2024-04 | Threats/Harassment | ZARA
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| 2024-03 | Attacks against property | ZARA
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| 2024-04 | Attacks against property | ZARA
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| 2024-04 | Attacks against property | ZARA
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| 2024-04 | Threats/Harassment | ZARA
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| 2024-04 | Violent attacks against people | ZARA
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| 2024-05 | Attacks against property | ZARA
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| 2024-04 | Attacks against property | ZARA
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| 2024-04 | Attacks against property | ZARA
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| 2024-05 | Attacks against property | ZARA
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| 2024-05 | Attacks against property | ZARA
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| 2024-05 | Threats/Harassment | ZARA
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| 2024-05 | Attacks against property | ZARA
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| 2024-05 | Attacks against property | ZARA
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| 2024-05 | Violent attacks against people | ZARA
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| 2024-06 | Threats/Harassment | ZARA
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| 2024-06 | Threats/Harassment | ZARA
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| 2024-06 | Violent attacks against people | ZARA
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| 2024-06 | Attacks against property | ZARA
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| 2024-06 | Violent attacks against people | ZARA
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| 2024-06 | Violent attacks against people | ZARA
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| 2024-06 | Violent attacks against people | ZARA
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| 2024 | Threats/Harassment | ZARA
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| 2024-07 | Attacks against property | ZARA
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| 2024-07 | Violent attacks against people | ZARA
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| 2024-07 | Threats/Harassment | ZARA
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| 2024-07 | Violent attacks against people | ZARA
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| 2024-07 | Threats/Harassment | ZARA
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| 2024-08 | Violent attacks against people | ZARA
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| 2024-09 | Violent attacks against people | ZARA
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| 2024-09 | Attacks against property | ZARA
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| 2024-09 | Attacks against property | ZARA
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| 2024-09 | Attacks against property | ZARA
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| 2024-09 | Attacks against property | ZARA
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| 2024-10 | Attacks against property | ZARA
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| 2024-10 | Violent attacks against people | ZARA
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| 2024-10 | Violent attacks against people | ZARA
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| 2024-11 | Threats/Harassment | ZARA
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| 2024-10 | Threats/Harassment | ZARA
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| 2024-11 | Violent attacks against people | ZARA
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| 2024-11 | Violent attacks against people | ZARA
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| 2024-11 | Attacks against property | ZARA
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| 2024-11 | Attacks against property | ZARA
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| 2024-11 | Attacks against property | ZARA
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| 2024-11 | Violent attacks against people | ZARA
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| 2024-11 | Attacks against property | ZARA
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| 2024-12 | Attacks against property | ZARA
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| 2024-11 | Attacks against property | Jewish Communities of Vienna
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Anti-Roma hate crime
| Date | Type of incident | Source | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-10 | Violent attacks against people | ZARA
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Anti-Semitic hate crime
| Date | Type of incident | Source | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-03 | Attacks against property | International Institute for Religious Freedom (IIRF).
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| 2024-02 | Attacks against property | International Institute for Religious Freedom (IIRF).
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| 2024-01 | Attacks against property | ZARA
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| 2024-10 | Threats/Harassment | ZARA
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| 2024-10 | Attacks against property | ZARA
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| 2024-09 | Violent attacks against people | Jewish Communities of Vienna
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| 2024-11 | Violent attacks against people | Jewish Communities of Vienna
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| 2024-11 | Violent attacks against people | Jewish Communities of Vienna
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| 2024-01 | Threats/Harassment | Jewish Communities of Vienna
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| 2024-04 | Threats/Harassment | Jewish Communities of Vienna
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| 2024-10 | Threats/Harassment | Jewish Communities of Vienna
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| 2024-05 | Threats/Harassment | Jewish Communities of Vienna
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| 2024-06 | Attacks against property | Jewish Communities of Vienna
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| 2024-11 | Attacks against property | Jewish Communities of Vienna
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| 2024-11 | Attacks against property | Jewish Communities of Vienna
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| 2024-12 | Attacks against property | Jewish Communities of Vienna
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| 2024-07 | Attacks against property | Jewish Communities of Vienna
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| 2024-09 | Attacks against property | Jewish Communities of Vienna
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| 2024-05 | Threats/Harassment | Jewish Communities of Vienna
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| 2024-06 | Threats/Harassment | Jewish Communities of Vienna
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| 2024-06 | Attacks against property | Jewish Communities of Vienna
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Anti-Muslim hate crime
| Date | Type of incident | Source | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-05 | Violent attacks against people | Anti-Discrimination Office Styria
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| 2024-09 | Violent attacks against people | Anti-Discrimination Office Styria
Dokustelle
ZARA
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| 2024-07 | Attacks against property | Dokustelle
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| 2024-01 | Violent attacks against people | ZARA
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| 2024-07 | Attacks against property | Dokustelle
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| 2024-08 | Attacks against property | Dokustelle
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| 2024-04 | Attacks against property | Dokustelle
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| 2024-05 | Attacks against property | Dokustelle
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| 2024-06 | Attacks against property | Dokustelle
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| 2024-07 | Attacks against property | Dokustelle
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| 2024-09 | Threats/Harassment | Dokustelle
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| 2024-09 | Threats/Harassment | Dokustelle
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| 2024-09 | Attacks against property | Dokustelle
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| 2024-05 | Attacks against property | Dokustelle
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| 2024-10 | Violent attacks against people | Dokustelle
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| 2024-02 | Violent attacks against people | ZARA
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| 2024-02 | Attacks against property | ZARA
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| 2024-02 | Attacks against property | ZARA
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| 2024-02 | Attacks against property | ZARA
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| 2024-02 | Violent attacks against people | ZARA
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| 2024-03 | Attacks against property | ZARA
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| 2024-06 | Threats/Harassment | ZARA
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| 2024-06 | Violent attacks against people | ZARA
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| 2024-07 | Attacks against property | ZARA
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Show info |
| 2024-07 | Violent attacks against people | ZARA
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| 2024-07 | Attacks against property | ZARA
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| 2024-08 | Attacks against property | ZARA
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| 2024-10 | Attacks against property | ZARA
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| 2024-11 | Attacks against property | ZARA
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| 2024-07 | Attacks against property | Dokustelle
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| 2024 | Attacks against property | Dokustelle
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Show info |
| 2024-10 | Threats/Harassment | Dokustelle
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Show info |
| 2024-01 | Attacks against property | Dokustelle
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Show info |
Anti-Christian hate crime
| Date | Type of incident | Source | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-09 | Attacks against property | Jehovah's Witnesses
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| 2024-03 | Threats/Harassment | Jehovah's Witnesses
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Show info |
| 2024-03 | Threats/Harassment | Jehovah's Witnesses
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Show info |
| 2024-03 | Attacks against property | Jehovah's Witnesses
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| 2024-04 | Threats/Harassment | Jehovah's Witnesses
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| 2024-05 | Threats/Harassment | Jehovah's Witnesses
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| 2024-05 | Violent attacks against people | Jehovah's Witnesses
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| 2024-11 | Violent attacks against people | Jehovah's Witnesses
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| 2024-09 | Violent attacks against people | Jehovah's Witnesses
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| 2024-10 | Violent attacks against people | Jehovah's Witnesses
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| 2024-10 | Threats/Harassment | Jehovah's Witnesses
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| 2024-03 | Threats/Harassment | International Institute for Religious Freedom (IIRF).
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| 2024-05 | Attacks against property | Jehovah's Witnesses
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| 2024-09 | Violent attacks against people | Jehovah's Witnesses
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| 2024-10 | Attacks against property | OIDAC
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| 2024-09 | Attacks against property | OIDAC
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| 2024-07 | Attacks against property | International Institute for Religious Freedom (IIRF).
OIDAC
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| 2024-05 | Attacks against property | OIDAC
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| 2024-03 | Threats/Harassment | ZARA
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| 2024-04 | Attacks against property | OIDAC
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| 2024-02 | Violent attacks against people | OIDAC
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| 2024-02 | Attacks against property | OIDAC
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| 2024-02 | Attacks against property | OIDAC
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| 2024-02 | Attacks against property | OIDAC
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| 2024-02 | Attacks against property | OIDAC
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| 2024-12 | Attacks against property | ZARA
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Show info |
Disability hate crime
| Date | Type of incident | Source | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-01 | Threats/Harassment | ZARA
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Show info |
Gender-based hate crime
| Date | Type of incident | Source | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-09 | Threats/Harassment | Dokustelle
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Show info |
| 2024-10 | Threats/Harassment | ZARA
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| 2024-01 | Threats/Harassment | ZARA
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| 2024-02 | Threats/Harassment | ZARA
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| 2024-02 | Threats/Harassment | ZARA
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| 2024-02 | Threats/Harassment | ZARA
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| 2024-02 | Threats/Harassment | ZARA
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Show info |
| 2024-10 | Violent attacks against people | ZARA
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Show info |
| 2024-11 | Violent attacks against people | ZARA
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| 2024 | Threats/Harassment | ZARA
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| 2024-10 | Violent attacks against people | Dokustelle
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Show info |
| 2024-10 | Threats/Harassment | Dokustelle
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| 2024-02 | Threats/Harassment | ZARA
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| 2024-10 | Threats/Harassment | ZARA
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Show info |
Anti-LGBTI hate crime
| Date | Type of incident | Source | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-01 | Threats/Harassment | ZARA
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Show info |
| 2024-02 | Threats/Harassment | ZARA
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| 2024-02 | Threats/Harassment | ZARA
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Show info |
| 2024-02 | Threats/Harassment | ZARA
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| 2024-07 | Threats/Harassment | ZARA
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