The Ministry of Justice put in place several restrictive measures in prisons to avoid the spread of Covid-19, including the suspension of family visits. Prisoners may meet with their legal representatives behind a glass window and phone calls and video conferences have been set up. Under newly passed legislation, prison sentences may be postponed for the duration of the Covid-19 measures, provided that the convicted person is not particularly dangerous and that the sentence does not exceed three years imprisonment. On 2 April, Austria’s Interior Ministry issued a decree permitting the rejection of asylum seekers at the country’s borders if they are not in possession of a valid health certificate.
- Bundesministerium (Justiz), “Covid-19”, accessed on 7 April 2020, www.justiz.gv.at/home/covid-19~7a5.de.html
- Prison Insider, “Coronavirus: la fièvre des prisons”, 18 March 2020, www.prison-insider.com/articles/europe-coronavirus-la-fievre-des-prisons#autriche-5e84d42b3b630
- Vienna Online, “Flüchtlinge werden an der Grenze abgewiesen,” 2 April 2020, www.vienna.at/fluechtlinge-werden-an-der-grenze-abgewiesen/6576374
