A 21-year-old Austrian man has been convicted of plotting a jihadist attack at a concert by US singer Taylor Swift in Vienna in 2024.
The man, identified as Beran A., was arrested on August 7,
2024, following a tip-off from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), just one
day before the singer’s scheduled performance.
The planned attack led to the cancellation of Swift’s three
sold-out shows at the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna, where over 195,000 fans
were expected to attend.
Last month, Beran appeared before a court in Wiener
Neustadt, south of the Austrian capital, on terrorism charges and other related
offenses.
At the hearing, he pleaded guilty to charges linked to the
concert plot. He stood trial alongside Arda K., another 21-year-old suspect who
was part of the same terror cell linked to the Islamic State (IS).
Beran was also accused of acquiring bomb-making instructions
online, including how to produce a shrapnel explosive device using triacetone
triperoxide (TATP), a substance often associated with IS attacks.
Authorities claimed he received training from IS operatives
on handling explosives and made multiple attempts to purchase firearms and a
hand grenade through illegal channels for import into Austria.
During the trial on Thursday, court psychiatrist Peter
Hoffmann stated that Beran showed no signs of mental illness, arguing that
there was “no psychiatric explanation” for his radicalization.
The defendant apologized for his actions before the court.
Beran was sentenced to 15 years in prison, while Arda K.
received a 12-year sentence.
In April, a teenager in Germany was given an 18-month
suspended sentence for assisting in the foiled plot.
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