Terror Plans Against Vienna Pride: Teen Sentenced to Six Months Probation

The conviction for terrorist association and criminal organization is not yet legally binding. The trial against a non-confessing pair of brothers aged 19 and 22 will continue on August 5, excluding the public.

The youngest of the three defendants partially confessed on Tuesday, and the conviction also included assault due to an incident at school. The 16-year-old Austrian (also referred to as 17 in the indictment) had expressed "extremely concerning" things in chats, said the presiding judge in the reasoning of the verdict. However, the evidence procedure had "a positive outcome," leading to a change in the youth, who is no longer an IS supporter. There was a "remorseful confession" regarding the terrorist association and criminal organization, which left an impression.

The 16-year-old was also ordered to continue probation assistance and must remain in a deradicalization program. "With this verdict, you have received a real second chance from the jury," emphasized the judge. Defense attorney Andreas Schweitzer waived legal remedies, and the prosecution made no statement.

The potential attack on the Pride on June 17, 2023, which was in the media spotlight, was not imminent according to the St. Pölten prosecutor's office. "This is not being held against them, it is not the subject of the indictment," the prosecutor emphasized in his opening statement. The three former supporters of the radical Islamic terrorist militia "Islamic State" (IS) had, however, "discussed attack plans" in a relevant Telegram group, as highlighted in the indictment. The youngest had obtained bomb-making instructions and IS propaganda material on the internet and exchanged ideas with like-minded individuals in chats.

Defense Attorney: Indictment Based "on Assumptions"

That there were no concrete Pride attack plans was agreed upon by all three defense attorneys on Tuesday. His client had still been sleeping at noon on the day of the event, then a house search with 30 officers was conducted, emphasized Markus Sommerauer, the lawyer of the 19-year-old first defendant. "So that more or less half of St. Pölten noticed." Little came out of it. Items were seized that "in no way fall under the weapons law" like soft guns. There was also criticism of the "hasty" public relations work of the Directorate for State Protection and Intelligence Service (DSN).

"I am of the opinion that this indictment is based on assumptions that my client can refute," emphasized the defense attorney of the second defendant. The image of the 22-year-old portrayed in public does not correspond to reality. Andreas Schweitzer, who represented the 16-year-old third defendant, also criticized the actions of the DSN.

From the prosecution's perspective, all three young defendants were, until their arrests, violent supporters of IS or the group "Islamic State - Khorasan Province" (ISKP) that emerged from it. They had encountered violence-prone and highly radicalized foreign like-minded individuals in the relevant Telegram group "psychology1444." The group "consisted of ten to 15 members," based in Europe, the prosecutor described. In addition to propaganda videos and calls for donations, attack plans were discussed in chats according to the indictment - a Ukrainian, for example, announced plans to blow himself up as a suicide bomber.

Defendants Largely Not Confessing

The defense of the first and second defendants denied their clients' involvement in the Telegram group. The third defendant confessed to this - as well as to the assault he was accused of, as lawyer Schweitzer explained.

Back to the chats. According to the indictment, the first defendant, like his older co-accused brother, an Austrian citizen, "planned to acquire an AK-47 assault rifle and a large knife in the Czech Republic for a terrorist attack and to carry out an attack on the LGBTQ Pride taking place in Vienna on June 17, 2023." The 19-year-old is said to have internalized IS ideology since at least March 2022 and expressed it on platforms like TikTok and Telegram or through his PlayStation profile, where he glorified IS and spread its ideology.

He and his 22-year-old brother are said to have repeatedly encouraged the Ukrainian willing to commit a suicide attack in his intentions and urged him to carry out the act. The 22-year-old advocated in a chat for "stabbing" (sic) and hunting down infidels. According to the accusation, both brothers also created pictures and videos in which they each posed with their right hand raised with an outstretched index finger. The so-called Tauhid gesture is misused by Islamist groups as a distinguishing mark.

Youngest Defendant Wanted to Go to IS Territory at 14

According to the indictment, the youngest of the three announced in a Threema chat between January 30 and February 2, 2023 - he was still 14 at the time - that he would travel to an area occupied by IS or ISPK to support their fighters there. He also inquired "specifically for tips on building particularly destructive explosive devices for the purpose of carrying out a bomb attack and for tips on aiming a weapon for carrying out an attack," as stated in the indictment. The 16-year-old Austrian was therefore also accused of instructing the commission of a terrorist offense (Section 278f of the Criminal Code), but the accusation was denied. Ultimately, an acquittal was reached on this charge.

According to the prosecution, extensive documents he obtained and saved from the internet prove that his travel plans were not mere fantasies. The 14-year-old at the time informed himself about tactical procedures in combat operations, methods in ambush operations, and "preparation and equipment recommendations for the beginner mujaheddin," as a document was titled, which was secured during the investigations.

The defense requested the exclusion of the public, citing the age and privacy of the boys. The request was granted. After the opening statements of the lawyers and thus before the questioning of the defendants, the observers had to leave the jury courtroom in St. Pölten.

Alleged Attack Plans Became Known Afterwards

The alleged attack plans on the Vienna Pride 2023 only became known the day after the Rainbow Parade. The DSN informed the public in a hastily convened press conference that an attack had been thwarted and house searches had been conducted at the three suspects. The DSN was alerted to the three thanks to a foreign partner service that had knowledge of the contents of the Telegram chats. The boys were released a few days after their arrests due to a lack of urgent suspicion.

The jury trial will continue on August 5. Several witness examinations are planned for that day.

(APA/Red)

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