The number of terrorism cases handled by the Public Prosecutor's Office (PPO) in Vienna increased by 69.23 percent within two years. While 130 such investigations were recorded in 2022, there were already 220 in the previous year. Nationwide, 540 cases of terrorist offenses were conducted by the prosecution authorities in 2024, with the Vienna Public Prosecutor's Office handling 40 percent of all cases. This was announced by the head of the authority, Michaela Obenaus.

Not Only an Increase in Terrorism Cases

There was also a significant increase in youth crime in the federal capital, as Obenaus explained on Wednesday during the presentation of the annual report of the Vienna Public Prosecutor's Office to the media. The number of youth criminal cases in Vienna increased from 3,000 in 2022 to 4,300 in the previous year, an increase of 43.33 percent. According to Obenaus, the trend towards noticeably more serious crimes among adolescents and young adults continues. Among adolescents, an increase in so-called intensive offenders can be observed, said the head of the PPO.

Both in the case of serious youth offenders, who often appear in groups, and in terrorism cases, social media and messaging services play a crucial role. Communication and radicalization, recruitment, and propaganda occur "practically exclusively via digital platforms," Obenaus noted: "In terrorism cases, there has been a change in recent years. Five to ten years ago, it was often prayer houses in connection with Islamist terrorist organizations where radicalization and recruitment took place." Today, radicalization occurs through social networks like the video platform TikTok, with the target audience of propaganda becoming increasingly younger: "Radicalization practically takes place in the children's room."

PPO Vienna Reports on Changes

Regarding terrorist acts, a lot has changed, explained Obenaus. The majority of cases involve the digital dissemination of propaganda material to a large audience and, in the next step, the planning of terrorist offenses. Obenaus mentioned in this context a 14-year-old student who was arrested on February 10 and has been in pre-trial detention since. The alleged supporter of the radical Islamist terrorist militia "Islamic State" (IS) is said to have planned a terrorist attack.

The 14-year-old, who initially did not comment on the allegations made against him, is now "confessing to the facts," stated StA spokesperson Nina Bussek at the press conference. When asked if this meant he admitted to the attack plans, Bussek replied: "He does not deny the fact that he took steps." Currently, chats that the teenager conducted "with IS recruiters" are being evaluated. When asked if these individuals are known by name and if they are included as suspects in the investigations, Bussek referred to the ongoing investigation. In this regard, no further information can be provided at this time.

Regarding a potentially thwarted attack on a Taylor Swift concert scheduled for August 9, 2024, at the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna, "the investigations are not concluded," revealed Bussek. A European investigation request to Germany is being processed, and "extensive data" that was secured from the main suspect, a 20-year-old, still needs to be evaluated.

Concerning a 20-year-old from Lower Austria, from the district of Bruck an der Leitha, who allegedly carried out a terrorist attack in the name of IS on March 11, 2024, on the grounds of the Al-Harām Mosque in Mecca - he stabbed five people, some of whom were critically injured - a domestic procedure is pending at the StA Vienna. However, the young man is in custody in Saudi Arabia. The Vienna prosecution is striving to obtain more detailed information about the Saudi investigation results. "We have sent a translated request for legal assistance to the authorities in Saudi Arabia," Bussek stated.

Tens of Thousands of Cases

In total, the StA Vienna, as the largest prosecution office in the country, conducted over 80,000 cases last year. This represented an increase of 15.5 percent compared to the cases from the previous year. Nationwide, the share of Vienna's cases accounted for 36 percent. Currently, the StA Vienna is handling 62 major cases characterized by complex circumstances, involving areas such as organized crime - drug offenses, human smuggling, and cybercrime - economic crime, and terrorism cases.

The additional workload must be managed with the same personnel resources. Since 2023, the number of prosecutorial positions in the federal capital has remained at 111.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.