In brief
Mohamed A, a Syrian teen, was handed an 18-month suspended sentence in Berlin for aiding a plot to attack a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna. This sentence comes after he helped translate bomb-making instructions and connected a would-be attacker with an ISIS member. The foiled attack led to the cancellation of Swift's concerts in Vienna last year, emphasizing ongoing concerns regarding extremist influences among youth.
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 Syrian, who prosecutors said was radicalised by Islamic State (IS) propaganda on the internet, was 14 when he aided the would-be attacker by translating bomb-making instructions from Arabic and facilitating contact with an IS member.
Swift's three sold-out gigs at Vienna's Ernst Happel Stadium were cancelled in August last year by concert organisers after the planned attack was uncovered by police.
The court noted that the teenager made a full confession to the charges. Under German privacy laws, he was known only as Mohamed A at the time the charges were brought.
In addition to Mohamed A, three other suspects, all teenagers, have also been detained by Austrian authorities concerning the plot.
As for the main suspect, identified as Beran A, investigations are ongoing. The 20-year-old Austrian was arrested before the concerts following a tip-off from the CIA.
According to the US foreign intelligence service, the plotters aimed to kill a large number of concert-goers. Beran A was also linked to plans for a previous attack in Dubai.
After the cancellation of her Vienna dates, Swift expressed her devastation but also gratitude to authorities for their intervention, stating, Thanks to them, we were grieving concerts and not lives.
