The China Mail - Austrian jihadist jailed for 15 years for Taylor Swift concert attack plan

The US megastar was forced to cancel the three Vienna shows of her record-breaking "Eras" tour in the summer of 2024 after authorities warned of the plot by the so-called Islamic State group (IS).

Accused of planning the attack and forming an IS cell, the jury found Austrian national Beran A. guilty on all counts after deliberating for hours.

The judge then handed him a 15-year jail sentence.

While listening to the verdict, Beran A. looked into the court room repeatedly, sniffling loudly, his leg and hands shaking.

Beran A. went on trial last month on terror offences and other charges in Wiener Neustadt outside Vienna.

The defendant -- who was arrested the day before the cancelled concert and has been detained since -- pleaded guilty to all charges except being an accomplice to attempted murder.

- Bomb-making instructions -

Beran A. faced a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison.

Another 21-year-old, Arda K., who was on trial together with Beran A., was sentenced to 12 years in jail.

The sentences can still be appealed.

In their closing remarks, both defendants apologised.

"I just want to say that I'm sorry," Beran A. told the court.

In his testimony last month, Beran A. said he had become convinced that he "had to wage jihad" but was "afraid to die".

He told the court he picked the packed Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna during Swift's concert as a target.

He detailed how he got instructions and tried but failed to make a bomb. He also sought advice on what weapons to choose in several chat groups and from a high-ranking IS member.

- 'Send a clear signal' -

Beran A. and Arda K. were accused, together with a third Austrian, Hasan E., of forming a "highly dangerous IS terror cell" planning to carry out several attacks, mainly abroad, in the name of IS, prosecutors say.

Hasan E. is currently in prison in Saudi Arabia, accused of stabbing a security official in Mecca in 2024 and injuring four others.

Defence lawyer Mair used her closing argument to urge the jury to acquit Beran of the charge of encouraging Hasan over the stabbing, arguing there was no evidence.

"Beran is not a leader, he is not an ideological mastermind," she said.

The prosecution told the jury they had the "chance to send a clear signal" that those who commit crimes will be held accountable on all counts, adding Beran A. encouraged Hasan E. through "intensive contact" and other ways.

Beran A. is accused of having been a member of a terror organisation from 2023, according to prosecutors.

By sharing IS propaganda, he participated and "openly aligned himself" with IS, they said.

The Swift concert plot was thwarted with the help of US intelligence.

Swift later wrote on social media that "the reason for the cancellations filled me with a new sense of fear, and a tremendous amount of guilt because so many had planned on coming to those shows".

Last year, a Berlin court convicted a Syrian teenager of contributing to the plot to attack the Swift concert.

The 16-year-old was given an 18-month suspended sentence.

C.Fong--ThChM