© CC0
The scandal over medical care provided to a person who helped a terrorist organisation responsible for numerous murders and atrocities broke out in 2019, after he was arrested in Syria - although Vienna had been harbouring suspicions since 2015.
Austrian citizen of Turkish decent Azad G. was
treated for a gunshot wound and received a guaranteed minimum wage for 14 months after returning from Syria in 2014, where he had fought on the side of Daesh, Austrian newspaper
Kronen Zeitung reported. Despite initially looking into Azad G.'s persona,
Austrian investigators dropped the case and failed to notify authorities in Vienna about their suspicions, the newspaper added.
Although the Daesh militant
was on an army black list, which prevented him from having the opportunity to receive advanced training (he received basic training in 2010), the Interior Ministry
allowed him to travel back to Syria in 2015, where he again joined the caliphate. However, this was not before he received 12,400 euros in Austrian tax money in the form of social benefits during his stay after treatment in the country,
Kronen Zeitung added.
A year later, in 2016, an international arrest warrant was issued on Azad G., although his location in Syria remained unknown. He was finally captured by the Kurdish militia in 2019. The militant reportedly expressed remorse at what he had done and asked to be allowed to return to Vienna.
According to the Austrian newspaper, the country's Interior Ministry is not interested in bringing the militant back.
Comment: See also: