Suspected IS Terrorist Arrested in Vienna: Pre-Trial Detention Requested
Whether this will be granted will be decided by the Regional Court for Criminal Matters over the weekend. Court spokesman Daniel Rechenmacher announced this on Friday in response to an APA inquiry. The 20-year-old has since been transferred to the Josefstadt prison.
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 Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna. He is suspected of having planned attacks in Mecca, Dubai, and Istanbul with this person and a third young man from February 2024, which were supposed to be carried out simultaneously.
Was in Istanbul, but did not carry out terror plans
The Slovak was supposed to carry out an attack in Istanbul but did not put it into action. He flew to Istanbul on March 4, 2024, where Hasan E. (20) - the third participant alongside the thwarted Swift attacker Beran A. (20) - had already gone. After spending a few days there, visiting sights, and buying perfumes, Hasan E. traveled on to Mecca on March 7.
There, the young Lower Austrian carried out an attack on March 11 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, the other two alleged supporters of the radical Islamic terror militia "Islamic State" (IS) returned to Austria from Istanbul and Dubai without having accomplished anything.
According to his own statements, Beran A. lost the courage to carry out his terrorist intentions in Dubai. He is said to have subsequently begun preparing an attack on the three-day Taylor Swift concert series at the Happel Stadium in Vienna, which was supposed to take place in early August. The Directorate of State Protection and Intelligence Service (DSN) learned of the plan from a foreign partner service. Beran A. was tracked down and arrested, and the concerts were canceled for security reasons.
(APA/Red)
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