15-Year-Old Ex-IS Supporter Released Early from Custody Under Conditions

At the end of August, the 15-year-old ex-IS supporter was released early on probation from the unconditional part of his sentence of eight months, but with conditions. The regular end of the sentence would have been at the beginning of November. The 15-year-old, who was convicted of terrorist association and criminal organization, had two months and twelve days of his sentence remitted.

15-year-old ex-IS supporter arrested in parental home in early March

The 15-year-old was arrested on March 7 in his parental home after the Directorate of State Protection and Intelligence (DSN) and the Vienna State Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counterterrorism (LSE) became aware of him due to tips from his school. Two parents independently contacted the constitutional protection authorities because the boy's radical mindset had been noticed. He had shown IS propaganda videos to classmates on school grounds, including clips of IS beheadings of prisoners and hostages.

The 15-year-old attended the same school as the Vienna attacker, who shot four people in the city center on November 2, 2020, in the name of IS before being killed by the police. As the evaluation of the seized phone and chat histories showed after his arrest, the 15-year-old had practically idolized the attacker. "May God be merciful to him," the 15-year-old expressed to another IS sympathizer.

In the boy's locker at school, investigators found a combat knife with a blade length of 18 centimeters, which the youth had acquired after thoughts of an attack had matured in him. He had also obtained bomb-making instructions on the internet and consumed online tutorials on suicide attacks, with a particular interest in car bomb attacks.

"I played with the thought of committing an attack"

"I played with the idea of committing an attack," admitted the son of a scientist employed at a university two months ago during his main trial at the Vienna Regional Court. However, he "had no plan": "I couldn't bring myself to kill anyone. I am 15 years old." He lacked "the means to implement it."

The boy only converted to Islam in 2024. He radicalized in a very short time via TikTok. On the internet, he came across like-minded individuals, networked with several IS supporters living in Vienna of his age, and met with some of them in real life.

IS network included thwarted attackers at Vienna Westbahnhof and Vienna Hauptbahnhof

The network included the thwarted 15-year-old Westbahnhof attacker, who was sentenced on July 21 to two years of partially suspended imprisonment, and the 18-year-old who was recently sentenced on September 2 to two years of unconditional imprisonment, who did not carry out an attack at Vienna Hauptbahnhof on September 11, 2023, at the last moment. After his first conviction, the 18-year-old acted as an IS propagandist, which earned him a second criminal record for terrorist association. Also part of the network was an 18-year-old who was definitively sentenced to two years of unconditional imprisonment last Tuesday, who had discussed attack fantasies with ChatGPT. These were related to the Israeli embassy in Vienna and the Islamic Center Imam Ali in Vienna-Floridsdorf.

As the spokeswoman for the Vienna Regional Court, Christina Salzborn, informed upon APA request, the 15-year-old was imposed a contact ban with these three IS sympathizers in connection with his conditional release. He must also avoid another IS member, who, at the age of 20, has already had two definitive convictions for terrorist association and is currently in pre-trial detention again after a third investigation procedure for related activities was initiated against him.

The 15-year-old, who was released at the end of August, was also instructed by the court to continue undergoing a deradicalization program and to continue his education. He must also keep his appointments with probation services.

(APA/Red)

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