In brief
A 16-year-old boy received an 18-month suspended sentence after being implicated in a plot to attack a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna. The court found him guilty of assisting the attacker by translating bomb-making instructions and making connections with ISIS. While he confessed to the charges, his young age and compliance with juvenile law spared him prison time. Meanwhile, investigations into the main suspect continue, with the authorities addressing the broader issue of youth radicalization through social media and terrorist propaganda.
A 16-year-old who helped to prepare a foiled attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna last year has avoided prison.
Mohamed A was given an 18-month suspended sentence under juvenile criminal law in Berlin on Tuesday.
The teen, identified only as Mohamed A due to German privacy laws, was radicalized by online Islamic State (IS) propaganda and was arrested for aiding a would-be attacker by translating bomb-making instructions and facilitating contact with an IS member.
Swift's three sold-out gigs at Vienna's Ernst Happel Stadium were called off in August last year after police uncovered the plot.
The court noted that the teenager had made a full confession to the charges. His sentence requires adherence to specific conditions, which, if breached, could lead to a prison term.
Separately, three other suspects, all teenagers at the time, have also been arrested as part of the ongoing investigation into the plot, led by the main suspect, Beran A, a 20-year-old currently in custody.
The CIA had tipped off Austrian authorities about the attackers' plans, which aimed at causing mass casualties during the concert.
Following the cancellation, Swift expressed gratitude to the authorities, recognizing the severity of the situation, stating, We were grieving concerts and not lives, adding that the incident was devastating.
