Series burglars delivered to Austria: Investigators strike!

Series burglars delivered to Austria: Investigators strike!

Flughafen Wien Schwechat, Österreich - A 35-year-old Albanian citizen was arrested in Germany on June 3, 2025. This arrest takes place on the basis of a further slump in house that is attributed to the suspect. After his arrest, the man was taken to Vienna Schwechat Airport, where he was delivered to Austria. The arrest is preceded by the suspicion of at least four houses in the federal states of Upper Austria and Lower Austria, which were committed between November 2023 and February 2024. Investigations by the Upper Austrian criminal officers led to his identification and arrest, while a European arrest warrant was obtained from the Linz public prosecutor. According to the investigation, the suspect admitted all entries during his interrogation and was then admitted to the Linz prison.

European arrest warrant in use

The European arrest warrant (EUHB) represents an important instrument for EU-wide enforcement of national arrest warrants based on a framework decision of June 13, 2002. It enables an EU state judicial authority to request the arrest and handover of a person in another EU country to carry out law enforcement or enforcement of a prison sentence. This procedure is supported by the principle of mutual recognition of judicial decisions and applies in all EU countries. The individual judicial authorities come into contact with each other directly, which significantly accelerated the exchange of information and the implementation of arrest warrants.

Essential aspects of the European arrest warrant include strict deadlines: The enforcement of the arrest warrant must be decided within 60 days of the arrest. If the person handed over consent, this can even happen within 10 days. The handover must then be made no later than 10 days after the final decision. In addition, no reviews of mutual criminal liability are required for 32 criminal offenses if the crime in the exhibiting country is threatened with a prison sentence of at least three years.

rights of the suspects and challenges

The suspects' procedural rights must be observed when carrying out a European arrest warrant. This includes the right to information, a lawyer as well as an interpreter and legal aid. Despite the regulations, challenges in the application of the EUHB can be observed, in particular in terms of detention conditions that differ in the various EU countries. These differences can affect trust in the European arrest warrant, especially in cases where fundamental rights appear.

Since 2016, there have been delays or rejections in the enforcement of an EUHB in almost 300 cases, since a risk of injury to fundamental rights was feared. The European Commission then issued recommendations on procedural rights and terms of detention in order to address these problems.