Start of Trial for Terror Plans Against Vienna Pride

It is unclear whether verdicts will be reached in the trial concerning the terror plans against the Vienna Pride on Tuesday. "That depends on the course of the proceedings," court spokeswoman Birgit Eisenmagen explained in response to an APA inquiry on Friday. A further trial date has been provisionally set for August 5. Andreas Schweitzer, the defense attorney for the youngest defendant, assumes that this date will also be necessary.

Turning to IS According to Defense Attorney an "Ill-considered Action"

"He will only plead guilty to being a member of a terrorist organization," Schweitzer said on Friday in a conversation with the APA regarding his client's responsibility. The turning of the then 14-year-old during the incriminated period to the "Islamic State" (IS) was "an ill-considered action in the course of youthful madness": "He was not aware of the consequences that would follow." The now 17-year-old did not pursue attack plans, and he never thought about the concrete implementation of incriminated travel plans to IS, Schweitzer noted. According to the indictment, the Viennese student had inquired at an IS propaganda site about how to reach an area occupied by IS.

Attack on Vienna Pride Not Imminent According to Indictment

According to the St. Pölten public prosecutor's office, an attack was not imminent. However, the three former IS supporters had "discussed attack plans" in a relevant Telegram group, as stated in the indictment. The youngest had obtained bomb-making instructions in addition to IS propaganda material on the internet and exchanged ideas with like-minded individuals in chats. From the prosecutor's perspective, all three defendants were violent supporters of IS or the group "Islamic State - Khorasan Province" (ISKP) that emerged from it until their arrests. They had encountered violence-prone and highly radicalized foreign IS supporters in the relevant Telegram group "psychology1444." In addition to propaganda videos and calls for donations, attack plans were discussed in chats according to the indictment - a Ukrainian, for example, announced his intention to blow himself up as a suicide bomber.

19-Year-Old Allegedly Promised Acquisition of Weapons for Attack

The 19-year-old defendant - an apprentice living in St. Pölten, like his two-year-older co-defendant brother, an Austrian citizen - according to the indictment, "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." He is said to have internalized IS ideology at least since March 2022 and to have expressed it on platforms like TikTok and Telegram or through his PlayStation profile, where he glorified IS and spread its ideology. He and his older 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 propagated in a chat the "stabbing" (sic) and hunting of infidels. 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 Wanted to Go to IS Territory at 14 According to Indictment

The youngest of the three announced in a Threema chat between January 30 and February 2, 2023, according to the indictment, 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 committing a bombing attack and for tips on aiming a weapon for committing an attack," as noted in the indictment. The now 17-year-old Austrian is therefore also accused of instructing the commission of a terrorist offense (§ 278f StGB). According to the prosecution, documents he obtained and saved from the internet prove that his travel plans were not mere fantasies. The then 14-year-old 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 could be secured during the investigations.

DSN Informed About Plans for Attack on Vienna Pride After the Fact

The alleged attack plans on the Vienna Pride 2023 became known only the day after the Rainbow Parade. The Directorate for State Protection and Intelligence (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 made aware of the three by a foreign partner service that had knowledge of the contents of the Telegram chats. However, the boys were not in custody for long - they were released a few days after their arrests due to a lack of urgent suspicion. The defendants are said to have since renounced their former ideology. "The reports from his probation officer and the Extremism Counseling Center, where he is undergoing a deradicalization program, are extremely positive," emphasized Schweitzer, the legal representative of the 17-year-old, in conclusion.

(APA/Red)

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