An Austrian man was charged with terrorism and other offences over a plot to attack a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna in August 2024.
Prosecutors said the 21-year-old suspect, identified only as Beran A, was accused of being a member of a terrorist organisation, making explosives and attempting to purchase weapons illegally.
He is also said to have been disseminating propaganda for the jihadist group Islamic State. He faces up to 20 years in jail if convicted.
The suspect was arrested after a tip-off from the CIA before Swift’s concert. Three sold-out gigs by the US star singer at Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium were called off. More than 195,000 people had been expected to attend.
Last year, a 16-year-old Syrian national, identified as Mohamed A, was given an 18-month suspended sentence by a court in Germany over the attack. He avoided prison under juvenile criminal law.
Overall, three people – including Beran A – were arrested in 2024. They were all teenagers at the time.
The charges against Beran A, who is the main suspect in the case, were announced on Monday by the Vienna prosecutor’s office.
According to the indictment, he had received online instructions and worked to make a shrapnel bomb using the explosive triacetone triperoxide (TATP).
The type of shrapnel bomb was “specific to IS attacks”, the statement said.
He is also believed to have sought advice from IS members on how to carry out a bomb attack.
Beran A has not commented on the latest developments.
The US foreign intelligence service said back in 2024 that the plotters had hoped to kill a large number of concert-goers.
Investigators alleged Beran A had also planned to carry out an earlier attack in Dubai in March 2024.
Reports at the time suggested it was part of a co-ordinated plot involving three simultaneous IS attacks but he had changed his mind at the last minute.
In a post on social media two years ago, Swift described the cancellation of her Vienna tour dates as “devastating”.
“But I was also so grateful to the authorities because thanks to them, we were grieving concerts and not lives,” she added.
By BBC News
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