Latest news with #concertattack
Daily Mail
15-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Syrian child goes on trial over 'ISIS' plot to bomb Taylor Swift concert which prompted the star to cancel gigs in Vienna
A Syrian teenager has gone on trial in Berlin accused of being an accomplice in a foiled ISIS-inspired plot to attack a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna last year. The 15-year-old, named only as Mohammad A, allegedly helped a would-be attacker translate bomb instructions and established contact with a member of ISIS abroad, according to the charges against him. Federal prosecutors believe the teenager, who attended school in Germany, was helping a man named as Beran A, who they say planned to kill himself and others at a show in Austria expected to attract up to 200,000 attendees last August. Berlin's superior court of justice granted a request by Mohammad's defence lawyers to hear the case behind closed doors, due to his age and 'heated' press coverage around the trial. Spectators at the Berlin Higher Regional Court were excluded even before the charges were read on Monday, a court spokeswoman said. Seven days of hearings are planned, ending on August 26. The Vienna Public Prosecutor's Office told the dpa press agency that main suspect Beran A, who remains in custody, is still under investigation. Investigators in Austria are not aware of any other suspected accomplices. The three Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna were cancelled a day before the first show as authorities swooped on two suspects, before arresting a third two days later. Mohammad, who was 14 at the time, was arrested on the day the concerts were cancelled, his name allegedly found among Beran's contacts. Prosecutors believe that Mohammad started following Islamic State ideology in April 2024 at the latest, texting an oath of loyalty to join the organisation. He attended a school in the German city of Frankfurt an der Oder, near the Polish border. The Syrian teenager is said to have been in contact with Beran A, an Austrian citizen, from mid-July until August 2024, according to Germany's prosecutor general. Authorities claim Beran A planned to 'kill as many people as possible'. Omar Haijawi-Pirchner, the head of state protection and intelligence at the Austrian interior ministry, said at the time that Beran A intended to 'kill himself and a large crowd of people' with the attack. The CIA, which provided intelligence to the Austrian authorities to help foil the plot, said in August that the suspects' plans were 'advanced'. Deputy director David Cohen noted there were 'tens of thousands of people at this concert, I am sure many Americans'. 'The Austrians were able to make those arrests because the agency and our partners in the intelligence community provided them information about what this ISIS-connected group was planning to do,' he revealed. Mr Cohen did not explain how the agency learned of the plot. Organisers cancelled the shows on August 7 last year, the day before the first show, warning about a 'planned terrorist attack'. Austrian authorities had only arrested two of the suspects that day. A third was arrested two days later. Austria's coalition government in June agreed on a plan to enable police to monitor suspects' secure messaging in order to thwart militant attacks, ending what security officials have said is a rare and dangerous blind spot for a European Union country. Taylor Swift said at the time that having to cancel the Vienna shows was 'devastating'. 'The reason for the cancellations filled me with a new sense of fear, and a tremendous amount of guilt because so many people had planned on coming to those shows,' she wrote. 'But I was also so grateful to the authorities because thanks to them, we were grieving concerts and not lives.'
The Guardian
14-07-2025
- The Guardian
Syrian boy goes on trial over alleged role in Taylor Swift concert bomb plot
A Syrian teenager has gone on trial in Berlin accused of involvement in an Islamic State-inspired plot to attack a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna last summer. The case brought by federal prosecutors against the 15-year-old defendant, identified only as Mohammad A in keeping with German privacy rules, includes charges of preparing a 'severe subversive act of violence' and supporting a terrorist organisation abroad. He is accused of translating a video on bomb-building from Arabic and sending it to a then 19-year-old man, named as Beran A, who was allegedly behind the plot in Austria. Mohammad A is also alleged to have helped to establish contact with a member of Islamic State. The Vienna leg of Swift's blockbuster Eras tour was called off last August after two people were arrested over an apparent plot to launch an attack on a public event in the Austrian capital. Authorities said they had arrested a 19-year-old man for allegedly planning an attack in the Vienna region and suggested that Swift's shows had been the 'focus' of the plot. The 19-year-old suspect intended 'to kill himself and a large crowd of people', said Omar Haijawi-Pirchner, the head of state protection and intelligence at the Austrian interior ministry, at the time. Swift later reacted to the foiled terror attack on Instagram, saying she felt 'a new sense of fear' and a 'tremendous amount of guilt' about the potential risk to her fans. Mohammad A was arrested on the day the concerts were cancelled. He attended a school in the eastern German city of Frankfurt an der Oder and was 14 when the events in question occurred. His name was found among Beran A's contacts. The presiding judge at the Berlin superior court of justice granted the request by his defence lawyers to try their client behind closed doors owing to his young age and the 'heated press coverage' of his case. The judge agreed public hearings could enhance the already significant stigma against the teenager, who was not in custody but has been barred from normal school instruction, the daily Berliner Morgenpost reported. Prosecutors say Mohammad A became a follower of Islamic State ideology at the latest in April 2024 and sent a text to one of the plot conspirators in Austria containing a loyalty oath to the group. German authorities have reported increasing radicalisation of younger suspects among the far right and radical left as well as among Islamic extremists. The trial, which began on Monday, is expected to last until at least 26 August. The main suspect in Austria was still under investigation, prosecutors in Vienna told the German news agency dpa.
The Guardian
14-07-2025
- The Guardian
Syrian boy goes on trial over alleged role in Taylor Swift concert bomb plot
A Syrian teenager has gone on trial in Berlin accused of involvement in an Islamic State-inspired plot to attack a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna last summer. The case brought by federal prosecutors against the 15-year-old defendant, identified only as Mohammad A in keeping with German privacy rules, includes charges of preparing a 'severe subversive act of violence' and supporting a terrorist organisation abroad. He is accused of translating a video on bomb-building from Arabic and sending it to a then 19-year-old man, named as Beran A, who was allegedly behind the plot in Austria. Mohammad A is also alleged to have helped to establish contact with a member of Islamic State. The Vienna leg of Swift's blockbuster Eras tour was called off last August after two people were arrested over an apparent plot to launch an attack on a public event in the Austrian capital. Authorities said they had arrested a 19-year-old man for allegedly planning an attack in the Vienna region and suggested that Swift's shows had been the 'focus' of the plot. The 19-year-old suspect intended 'to kill himself and a large crowd of people', said Omar Haijawi-Pirchner, the head of state protection and intelligence at the Austrian interior ministry, at the time. Swift later reacted to the foiled terror attack on Instagram, saying she felt 'a new sense of fear' and a 'tremendous amount of guilt' about the potential risk to her fans. Mohammad A was arrested on the day the concerts were cancelled. He attended a school in the eastern German city of Frankfurt an der Oder and was 14 when the events in question occurred. His name was found among Beran A's contacts. The presiding judge at the Berlin superior court of justice granted the request by his defence lawyers to try their client behind closed doors owing to his young age and the 'heated press coverage' of his case. The judge agreed public hearings could enhance the already significant stigma against the teenager, who was not in custody but has been barred from normal school instruction, the daily Berliner Morgenpost reported. Prosecutors say Mohammad A became a follower of Islamic State ideology at the latest in April 2024 and sent a text to one of the plot conspirators in Austria containing a loyalty oath to the group. German authorities have reported increasing radicalisation of younger suspects among the far right and radical left as well as among Islamic extremists. The trial, which began on Monday, is expected to last until at least 26 August. The main suspect in Austria was still under investigation, prosecutors in Vienna told the German news agency dpa.
Free Malaysia Today
30-06-2025
- Free Malaysia Today
Germany charges Syrian juvenile over plot to attack Taylor Swift concert
Multiple arrests were made over a plot to attack a Taylor Swift concert at the Ernst Happel Stadium last year. (EPA Images pic) BERLIN : Germany has charged a Syrian juvenile with supporting a foreign terrorist organisation for helping to plan a foiled attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna last year, the prosecutor general said in a statement today. Identified as Mohammad A, the suspect helped the would-be attacker by translating Arabic bomb-building instructions and putting him in contact with a member of the Islamic State militia online, according to the charges against him. Police made multiple arrests over a suspected plot to attack a Taylor Swift concert in the Austrian capital's Ernst Happel Stadium, prompting the cancellation of all three of her shows there in August last year. 'Mohammad A has adhered to the ideology of the terrorist organization Islamic State (IS) since April 2024 at the latest,' the statement said. 'Between mid-July and August 2024, he was in contact with a young Austrian who was planning a bomb attack on a concert by singer Taylor Swift in Vienna.' Austria's coalition government earlier this month agreed on a plan to enable police to monitor suspects' secure messaging in order to thwart militant attacks, ending what security officials have said is a rare and dangerous blind spot for a European Union country.
Daily Mail
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Syrian is charged over plot to bomb Taylor Swift concert in Vienna
A young Syrian has been charged with supporting a foiled attempt to bomb a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna last year. German prosecutors say Mohamed A, who is a juvenile and cannot be fully identified in line with Germany 's privacy rules, is accused of supporting a foreign terrorist organisation and preparing a serious act of violence. Cops say the suspect, who is currently not in custody, supports the ideology of the so-called Islamic State (IS) group. It has been alleged that between mid-July and August last year, he had been in communication with a man in Austria who was planning to attack the concert. Mohamed A is said to have helped him by translating bomb making instructions from Arabic. Among other things, he is also accused of organising online contact with a member of the terrorist group. Additionally, the suspect allegedly gave his Austrian acquaintance the text for an oath of allegiance to IS. The contact in Austria then used it to join the group, police say. Although Mohamed A has been charged, it is now up to German courts to determine whether to take the case to trial. In a statement, Germany's federal public prosecutor said: 'Mohammad A has adhered since April 2024 at the latest to the ideology of the terrorist organisation Islamic State (IS).' The statement added: 'Between mid-July and August 2024, he was in contact with a young adult from Austria who was planning a bomb attack on a concert by singer Taylor Swift in Vienna. Taylor Swift's fans were left disappointed when organisers cancelled the shows the day before they were set to begin. The popstar was scheduled to perform at her Eras Tour, which had three sold-out dates in the country, in August. She later apologised for the cancellation, saying she felt a 'tremendous amount of guilt'. Many suspects were arrested, with authorities saying they had links to IS and al-Qaeda. The plot's prime suspect was identified as Beran A, a now 20-year-old man from Vienna, who was allegedly a member of an IS syndicate in the city. Thanks to a tip-off by the CIA, the suspect was apprehended before the alleged plot, which was intended to slaughter a large number of people, could be carried out. But prosecutors say that was not the only time he had planned a terrorist attack. It is alleged that he planned an attack in Dubai in March last year but eventually had a change of mind. Speaking about the foiled Vienna attacks, the CIA's deputy director David Cohen said: 'The Austrians were able to make those arrests because the agency and our partners in the intelligence community provided them information about what this ISIS-connected group was planning to do.'
