Arabic version: رجل نمساوي يُحكم عليه بالسجن بسبب التخطيط لهجوم على حفل تايلور سويفت
A 21-year-old Austrian man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for plotting a jihadist attack on a Taylor Swift concert during the singer’s Eras tour in August 2024. The man, identified only as Beran A due to privacy laws, admitted to the plot and other terrorism-related offenses, including an attack in Mecca. According to BBC News, he expressed remorse during the court proceedings.
Beran A was arrested following a tip-off from the CIA just before the first of three sold-out concerts at Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium. The threat led to the immediate cancellation of all three shows, disappointing nearly 200,000 fans and the singer herself.
Prosecutors revealed that Beran A had become radicalized and pledged allegiance to the jihadist group Islamic State (IS). He attempted to acquire weapons illegally, including a machine gun and a hand grenade, but was unsuccessful in these efforts. Court psychiatrist Peter Hoffmann stated that Beran A displayed no signs of mental illness and provided no psychiatric explanation for his radicalization.
Alongside Beran A, another 21-year-old, Arda K from Slovakia, faced trial in Wiener Neustadt for being part of a cell associated with IS. However, Arda K was not implicated in the plot against the concert.
