1985 Iraq

The global arms trade has a long tradition in Austria. The Hirtenberg munitions factory had already achieved international success before 1918, and weapons manufacturer Glock has been producing handguns for the police forces and armies of many countries for decades. However, Austrian law prohibits the export of arms to countries at war. So when in 1985 it came up that Noricum, a subsidiary of the company VÖEST, had sold weapons to Iraq and Iran, it caused one of the biggest scandals in Austria since Second World War. Today, human rights organisations are still campaigning for the export ban to be tightened.