Austria announced plans to strengthen laws banning Nazi symbols in response to protesters against COVID-19 restrictions comparing themselves to Holocaust victims.
Nazi propaganda and symbols have been illegal in Austria since World War II ended.
The newly tightened laws would go after protesters who have worn yellow stars similar to what Jews were forced to wear by the Nazis during the Holocaust, Reuters reported.
“Any trivialization of National Socialist genocide and any Nazi crimes against humanity of the Holocaust, even if it is only trivialization or denial of part of the Holocaust, must be punished and cannot be tolerated,” Justice Minister Alma Zadic said.
The incidents do not meet the threshold of the current law because it only makes “gross trivialization” of the Holocaust illegal. The government plans to remove the word “gross,” Zadic said.
The change would need a two-thirds parliamentary majority, including the support of one of the opposition parties. The main opposition party, the Social Democrats, stated they would not give their support until they read the text of the proposed changes.
The changes would also encompass online material posted from outside of the country, including other EU nations, directed at Austrians, Zadic explained.