19-Year-Old IS and Hamas Fanatic Sentenced in Vienna: One Year Suspended Sentence
A panel of lay judges sentenced the 19-year-old to one year of suspended imprisonment for terrorist association and criminal organization.
The young woman must undergo a deradicalization program at the Extremism Counseling Center. By court order, she was also required to undergo psychotherapeutic or clinical-psychological treatment. Probation assistance was ordered.
The defendant, originally from Afghanistan, came to Austria with her parents at the age of four. They are moderate Shiites, which eventually became a problem for her, as the 19-year-old explained to a panel of lay judges, appearing in traditional Muslim clothing - a floor-length chador and a color-coordinated hijab: "I didn't feel comfortable in the religion." Without her parents' knowledge, she initially turned to Sunnism, landing on IS ideology within a few weeks in the summer of 2022 after losing herself in relevant channels on TikTok. A girl living in Albania, with whom the student registered in Vienna-Donaustadt exchanged frequently, was likely a decisive factor.
Salafist Hate Sermons Instead of Tuba and Trumpet
Instead of continuing to play tuba and trumpet in the school orchestra, the then-teenager now consumed clips of the German Salafist and jihad preacher Denis Cuspert and the content of other well-known hate preachers. Music was now forbidden to her. Instead of her brass instruments, she devoted herself at home to the Quran in an extremely radical interpretation and engaged as an IS propagandist from July 2022. She spread relevant videos and photos, which she not only adopted but skillfully edited and set to nasheeds (Islamic chants, ed.). She also sent messages to like-minded people via WhatsApp. "The infidels must be killed, whether young or old. All must be killed" or "Kill the kuffar" (infidels, ed.) she ranted. She denied homosexuals the right to exist. She celebrated the Hamas terror attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
"I Am Guilty, I Do Not Deny It"
Last year, the young woman's activities were uncovered. A house search was conducted at her address, and data carriers with incriminating material were secured. "I am guilty, I do not deny it," said the 19-year-old, who lives on social assistance, now in the Gray House regarding the allegations of the prosecution. "She sees this ideology completely differently today and can no longer relate to the contents of this ideology. She is willing to work on herself to detach from the ideology, if any remnants still exist," her legal aid confirmed.
"I had severe depression back then. It was worse than today," the defendant admitted. When asked why she had saved and forwarded psychologically distressing beheading videos of IS hostages in her situation, she had no answer. She refused to comment on plans to travel to Syria, which were allegedly in the room according to the indictment: "I don't want to talk about it." When the judge mentioned that she had entered into a marriage under Islamic law at 16, she became defiant: "I just got married like that. Because I loved him. It was a stupid idea." The relationship lasted "two to three months."
Finally, the 19-year-old assured regarding her alleged departure from her radical mindset that she would "not slip back into it." She now talks "with my cousins about my problems," and there are no more contacts with IS sympathizers: "When the police were at my house and took me away, I realized how extreme the views I held back then were."
(APA/Red)
This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.