Pre-trial Detention Imposed on Suspected IS Terrorist After Arrest in Vienna

The decision for pre-trial detention due to risk of committing an offense and risk of flight is initially valid for 14 days until May 10. This decision is not yet legally binding. The 20-year-old, who has been in the Vienna-Josefstadt prison since Friday, has the opportunity to file a complaint. Should he take this step, the Vienna Higher Regional Court would be obliged to review the grounds for detention.

Suspected IS Terrorist Allegedly Followed Attack Plans in Istanbul

The accused - a Slovak citizen residing in Vienna - is said to have been part of a terror cell since late spring 2023, surrounding the thwarted attacker on a Taylor Swift concert at the Vienna Ernst Happel Stadium. He is suspected of having planned attacks in Mecca, Dubai, and Istanbul with this and a third young man from February 2024, which were supposed to be carried out simultaneously. According to investigations, the Slovak was supposed to commit an attack in Istanbul on March 11, 2024, but did not carry it out. He flew to Istanbul on March 4, 2024, where Hasan E. (20) - alongside the thwarted Swift attacker Beran A. (20) the third participant - had already gone. After spending a few days there, visiting sights and buying perfumes, Hasan E. traveled on to Mecca on March 7.

Surveillance of Suspected IS Terrorist by State Security

There, the young Lower Austrian actually committed an attack by stabbing five people, some critically, with a knife bought at a market in front of the Al-Haram Mosque. While Hasan E. was arrested in Saudi Arabia and is now awaiting his apparently imminent trial, the other two suspected supporters of the radical Islamic terror militia "Islamic State" (IS) returned to Austria from Istanbul and Dubai without having accomplished anything. There, Beran A. is said to have then prepared an attack on a Taylor Swift concert scheduled for August 9 at the Happel Stadium. Through a foreign partner service, the Directorate of State Security and Intelligence (DSN) became aware of this plan. Beran A. was tracked down and arrested, and he has been in pre-trial detention in Vienna since early August.

The native Slovak continued to live in Vienna until his arrest a few days ago. At the latest, with the evaluation of the phones seized from Beran A. and the chats stored there, the law enforcement authorities had the 20-year-old on their radar as a terror suspect. It is certain that he has been under observation and closely monitored by state security since at least last autumn, and there were tactical reasons for the arrest only taking place now.

(APA/Red)

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