The Austrian §278a trial was a “Trial against the Animal Liberation Movement and its Background. The trial which lasted for more than a year and drew to a close on May 2011 represents a further stage of repression against political activists in Austria. It was preceded by the destruction of the private life of the accused and their friends through the investigations of ‘Soko Bekleidung’ (a special police commission – L.H.), the storming and searching of 23 flats and offices in May 2008 and the ensuing arrest of ten animal-rights activists, on suspicion, among other things, of membership in a ‘a criminal organisation’ (§278a)”
(See: Christof Mackinger and Birgit Pack, §278a – Gemeint sind wir alle! [Paragraph 278a – The Target Is All of Us], Mandelbaum Verlag, Vienna 2011. )

More on the §278a trial can also be found in the TIERBEFREIUNG #70.