Trial Related to Vienna Pride Temporarily Adjourned

The trial against a pair of brothers, aged 20 and 22, was postponed on Tuesday. The court cited the need to obtain an IT expert report as the reason. The two Austrian citizens are accused of forming a terrorist organization and being members of a criminal organization.

Already in mid-July, a third defendant, a 16-year-old, was sentenced to six months of conditional imprisonment. The verdict is final.

Attack on Vienna Pride Parade not imminent according to indictment

At the center of the allegations is an exchange allegedly conducted in a radical Islamist Telegram group about possible attacks. However, according to the prosecution, a specific attempt to attack the Vienna Pride on June 17, 2023, is not part of the indictment.

According to investigations, the three youths are said to have networked and exchanged violent fantasies with other radicalized individuals, including a suicide bomber from Ukraine, via the platform "psychology1444".

The 20-year-old main defendant is said to have expressed a desire to acquire a Kalashnikov AK-47 and a large knife in the Czech Republic to carry out an attack on the Pride Parade. Additionally, he has reportedly been spreading IS propaganda via social networks since March 2022.

IS group affiliation denied

The defense of the brothers denies their involvement in the mentioned Telegram group. They also argue that there are no concrete attack plans.

The prosecution counters: The brothers allegedly demonstrated their ideology through calls for violence in chats, supporting a suspected attacker, and creating relevant images with the Islamist Tawhid gesture.

Investigations Through International Tips

The Directorate for State Protection and Intelligence (DSN) became aware through a foreign partner service that had access to the Telegram content.

House searches were conducted after the Rainbow Parade. The public was informed the following day in a press conference. The three youths were released shortly after their arrest due to a lack of urgent suspicion.

The further course of the trial now depends on the IT report. A new trial date has not yet been set.

(APA/Red)

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