Vienna / Austria (RNC Agency) 19.06.1997

An international human rights group on Thursday criticised Austria’s asylum policies as restrictive and said foreigners were often ill-treated by police and detained in poor conditions.

The International Helsinki Federation (IHF) said in its annual report for 1996 that xenophobic attitudes persisted in Austria and that the government’s policies on immigration were a key concern. ’’ These (policies) seriously restricted the right to asylum , protection of family life and family reunification, ’’ the report said.

The Vienna-based group said last year 716 individuals were granted political asylum in Austria -- amounting to eight percent of all applications. The government in March introduced a package aimed at tightening immigration laws and giving preference to Aus trians in the job market, where unemployment of workforce, is creating growing public concern. In May 4.4 percent of the workforce were unemployed. Far-right Freedom Party leader Joerg Haider has won huge support for his anti-foreigner policies in election campaigns over the past four years. In European Parliament elections last October his party soared to an all-time high of 28 percent of vote to become Europe’s largest far-right grouping. The IHF said it was also concerned by the practice of returning asy lum seekers and immigrants to ’’ safe third countries’’ from which were often repatriated to their country of origin where they faced potential danger. The conditions in custody to expulsion were unacceptable, with overcrowding and poor sanitation, it adde d. According to the 1996 report of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture, detainees had reported being beaten or kicked by police and even occasionally tortured. The European Union this month said it was setting up an centre in Vienna to car ry out research to find ways of fighting xenophobia and anti-semitism in the 15-nation EU. Racism and intolerance toward the 30,000 Roma living in Austria had also increased, the IHF said, citing a string of 20 letterbomb attacks over the past four years, aimed at minority groups and politicians and organisations that work with foreigners.

In 1995, four Roma were killed when they tried to remove a racist sign saying ‘‘Roma back to India,’’ setting off a booby-trapped bomb. Austrian police have so far failed to catch the perpetrators.