Country Reports on Terrorism 2012

countries signed or ratified agreements with the United States on preventing and combating
serious crime. The EU and a number of European countries continued to play leading roles in the
Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF).
Counterterrorism cooperation with the Russian Federation continued bilaterally and in various
multilateral fora, including the GCTF. The activities of two joint counterterrorism working
groups supported these efforts, one led by diplomatic counterparts under the auspices of the
Bilateral Presidential Commission, and the other bringing together law enforcement and
intelligence professionals of the two countries.
Prosecutions of suspected terrorists continued apace, with significant trials and/or convictions
taking place in several countries. In Norway, violent nationalist extremist Anders Breivik was
convicted of murder in August for his 2011 attacks on government offices and a political party
youth camp that killed a total of 77 people. A German court sentenced to life imprisonment Arid
Uka, who was responsible for shooting U.S. airmen at Frankfurt Airport in 2011.
AUSTRIA
Overview: Austria maintained its diligence in its counterterrorism efforts and U.S.-Austrian law
enforcement cooperation was generally strong. Austria's Agency for State Protection and
Counterterrorism (BVT), the key counterterrorism agency within the Ministry of the Interior,
noted that while the number of violent extremists has been growing in Austria, their overall
number remained small, and it did not see a climate fostering terrorist attacks within Austria. The
pace of approving and implementing counterterrorism legislation was often slowed by concerns
over data privacy protections. Counterterrorism efforts were further complicated by a general
public perception that Austria is safe from terrorism. The BVT said the threat from transnational
violent extremism remained a concern, and estimated the number of radicalized individuals
among second- and third-generation Muslim immigrants and among converts to Islam in the
country at approximately 500. The BVT remained concerned by individuals who seek training in
terrorist camps abroad.
Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security: Parliament approved the bilateral U.S.-
Austrian Preventing and Combating Serious Crime agreement, and it came into force in May. As
of year’s end, the agreement had not been implemented.
Austria implemented a 2006 EU counterterrorism directive on data retention on April 1. In an
effort to accommodate widespread public skepticism of the directive, the Austrian parliament’s
justice committee heard concerns over the directive in November. Intelligence and law
enforcement officials also responded to public concerns about the use of expanded legislative
tools enacted in 2011 to monitor terrorism.
In July, an Austrian court sentenced an Austrian citizen to three years in prison for membership
in a terrorist organization. The accused had planned a trip to Somalia in 2009 to receive terrorist
training from al-Shabaab.
Countering Terrorist Finance: Austria is an active member of the Financial Action Task Force
(FATF). The Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA) regularly updates a regulation issued
January 1, 2012, which mandates banks and insurance companies to apply additional special due
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