Nine people were injured in a mass brawl last night in front of an Islamic center in Vienna, Austrian radio and television reported. According to police, there were about 70 participants in the mass brawl. The incident occurred after a memorial ceremony for the slain spiritual leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, in which several hundred people took part, BTA reported.
During the commemoration on the other side of the street in front of the Islamic center building, there was a permitted demonstration of opponents of the regime.
The police tried to prevent the two groups from clashing. After the memorial event, the participants dispersed.
“The police operation was called off at around 9:30 p.m. There were only a few demonstrators at the scene at the time,“ explained police spokesman Markus Dietrich.
A few minutes later, dozens of demonstrators and members of the memorial event returned to the building, where a massive fight broke out with sticks and rods. Police officers from the district police department and the VEGA special unit managed to bring the situation under control. “The suspects fled,” Dietrich reported.
According to police, the clashes involved mainly men of Iranian origin, as well as several men of Afghan origin. A total of nine people were injured. They received emergency medical care, seven of them were taken to hospital.
Two people were detained during the demonstration - one on suspicion of attempting to resist an authority and the other for aggressive behavior. In addition, one person was charged with making threats and 19 traffic violations were issued.