Indictment in Germany After Planned Attack on Taylor Swift Concert in Vienna

The 15-year-old Syrian, residing in Brandenburg, is said to have been in close contact with the 20-year-old Beran A. from Lower Austria since July 2024. He allegedly translated a bomb-making manual and established a connection to an IS member. Beran A. also received a template for an IS pledge of allegiance from him, which he used to join the terrorist militia. A video with this pledge was published online by Beran A.

Attack Plans Against Taylor Swift Concert in Vienna: Charges Filed Against 15-Year-Old in Berlin

The charges against the Syrian were filed on June 17 with the State Security Senate of the Berlin Court of Appeal, said Peterson. The boy will have to answer for supporting a terrorist organization abroad and for preparing a serious act of violence endangering the state. He is said to have been committed to the IS ideology since at least April 2024.

The young Syrian is at liberty due to his very young age and the "special circumstances," as Peterson explained to the APA. There is a "short duration of the offense." The 15-year-old is also not suspected of "having acted himself." There is no indication that the youth ever considered participating in the implementation of attack plans. He also has "a very stable family environment," which is why detention has not yet seemed proportionate, considering all the circumstances.

Both Peterson and the Vienna Public Prosecutor's Office stated in response to an APA inquiry that the 15-year-old only had virtual contact with Beran A. The two are unlikely to have ever met in person. "We obtained the documents on the suspect living in Germany from our German colleagues through mutual legal assistance," said Judith Ziska, spokeswoman for the Vienna Public Prosecutor's Office, in a conversation with the APA on Friday afternoon. The findings of the German investigators and especially the statements of the 15-year-old are "essential for our proceedings."

IS Network Around Beran A. Evident

With the young Syrian, it is becoming increasingly clear that Beran A. had formed a multi-member IS network around him. Since late spring 2023, he had close contact with the same-aged alleged IS supporters Hasan E., a young man living in the Neunkirchen district, and Arda K., a Slovak registered in Vienna. The three are said to have planned attacks in Mecca, Dubai, and Istanbul from February 2024, which were to be carried out simultaneously at the beginning of the fasting month of Ramadan on March 11, 2024.

According to the Vienna Public Prosecutor's Office's investigations, the Slovak was supposed to take over the attack in Istanbul but did not carry it out. He flew to Istanbul on March 4, 2024, where Hasan E. had already gone. After spending a few days there, sightseeing and buying perfumes, Arda K. returned to Vienna, while Hasan E. continued to Mecca on March 7.

There, the young man from Lower Austria actually committed an attack by stabbing five people, some critically, with a knife bought at a market in front of the Al-Haram Mosque. Hasan E. was arrested and has since been charged with nine counts by the Saudi Arabian authorities. According to APA information, the 20-year-old was last held in the high-security prison Dhahban in Saudi Arabia, a facility for 7,500 inmates, which houses political prisoners as well as IS supporters and other terrorist organizations. Human rights organizations Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have repeatedly reported abuses and torture of inmates, which the Saudi authorities deny.

Investigations Against Beran A. for Attack Plans Against Taylor Swift Concert in Vienna Still Ongoing

Beran A., who was assigned the attack in Dubai within the IS trio, also did not carry out the plan. He returned to Ternitz without accomplishing anything and seems to have focused on his attack plans against the three-day concert series of Taylor Swift at the Happel Stadium starting in the summer of 2024. The Directorate of State Protection and Intelligence Service (DSN) got wind of this in time thanks to a foreign partner service and arrested Beran A. on August 7. "The investigations against Beran A. and Arda K. are still ongoing. Both are in pre-trial detention," said prosecutor's office spokeswoman Ziska. In the case of Beran A., "ongoing further evaluations of his cloud data" are supplementing the already extensive evidence, Ziska said.

Indictment and Trial Date for Another IS Acquaintance of Beran A.

Meanwhile, there is already a legally binding indictment and a trial date for another IS acquaintance of Beran A. The 18-year-old Luca K. was arrested on the same day as Beran A. - he was supposed to help with the stage setup at the Happel Stadium ahead of the Swift concert series and was initially considered a possible accomplice of the main suspect in his terrorist intentions.

A direct involvement in attack plans against "Swifties," as Taylor Swift's fans are called, is not mentioned in the 21-page indictment, which will be heard on July 25 at the Regional Court of Wiener Neustadt and is available to the APA. However, Luca K. maintained close contact with Beran A. and, according to the indictment, shared a radical Islamist, IS-glorifying ideology with him. In early April 2024, he advised the older man not to visit a certain mosque because it would allow "Western values like elections and police," as stated in the indictment.

On June 30, the then 17-year-old spent time with Beran A. and filmed him during a joint car ride, during which Beran A. held a knife with the IS symbol in his hand. The video, set to a nasheed (Islamic vocal music, note), was later sent by Luca K. to his older friend. This is said to have strengthened Beran A. "in his decision to continue participating as a member of IS," the Wiener Neustadt prosecutor's office accuses the Austrian registered in the Neunkirchen district.

Oath of Allegiance to IS Caliph Taken

Luca K. is said to have taken an oath of allegiance to the current caliph of IS with another IS supporter in June 2024 in Vienna-Meidling. This alleged IS supporter - an 18-year-old - must answer for terrorist association and criminal organization at the Vienna Regional Court next Monday. When taking the oath, Luca K. assumed the pose of the Vienna attacker from November 2, 2020, holding a knife in one hand and a pistol in the other, crossing both arms in front of his chest.

With the allegations of terrorist association and criminal organization, Luca K. faces trial in Wiener Neustadt three weeks later. He is said to have possessed and distributed extensive IS propaganda material. "My client has been in custody for almost a year, mostly as a juvenile, for an act he apparently did not plan and which is not being charged now," said Michael Dohr, the 18-year-old's defense attorney, alluding to the young man's originally alleged involvement in the Swift terror plans. Dohr further stated: "From this perspective, the cancellation of the Swift concerts is incomprehensible, as there was no threat, supposedly he was the reason for the cancellation because he worked on the stage setup. Even the American intelligence service is not always right."

Next Wednesday, a girl born in 2009 from the Baden district will face charges of terrorist association at the Regional Court of Wiener Neustadt. She is said to have been in contact with Luca K. and sent radical Islamist and IS-glorifying content via a messenger service - including a message that she wanted to carry out an attack and felt ready to do so. She is also said to have shared IS videos on TikTok. The period of the offense is considered to be from July to October 2024.

(APA/Red)

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