Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna: Arrested teenager is already free
In recent days, all of Austria has been abuzz about the cancelled Taylor Swift concerts, which were supposed to take place at Vienna's Ernst-Happel-Stadium. The decision to cancel the events was made after reports of a planned attack by three teenagers aged 15, 17, and 19. One of the boys, the youngest of the trio, will not be charged in this matter. Why is that?
The three young men were bonded by an unfortunate friendship. Two of them, the 17-year-old and the 19-year-old residents of Ternitz in Lower Austria, were close friends, while the third, a 15-year-old boy, was more of an occasional companion with whom they sometimes spent time, reports the portal kurier.at.
This acquaintance attracted public attention after information emerged about a planned attack by the two older boys on the Taylor Swift concert. This was to take place at Vienna's Ernst-Happel-Stadium.
The decision to cancel Taylor Swift's concerts in Vienna due to the terrorist threat was made by the organisers, not as a result of an official order. The police did everything they could to enable these events – emphasised the Austrian Ministry of the Interior on Thursday morning
Planned a suicidal attack
19-year-old Beran A., a teenager of Macedonian descent, was planning an attack using a car, bombs, and knives. The attack was aimed at fans gathered before the Taylor Swift concert. The teenager was arrested Wednesday morning in Ternitz, a town near Vienna. During a search of his home, the police found a range of "chemical substances" and "technical devices," currently being examined. Furthermore, sources indicate that the 19-year-old had already pledged allegiance to the so-called Islamic State in June.
The second suspect is a 17-year-old boy of mixed Turkish-Croatian descent. The teenager is known to the police from previous conflicts related to gang wars in Vienna. Investigators particularly noted his work as a scaffolding installer at concerts, which gave him access to the stadium's interior where the attack was planned. He was arrested in front of the stadium on Wednesday. It is known that the 17-year-old had contacted the main suspect regarding potential plans for the attack.
However, the 17-year-old's lawyer, Nikolas Rast, claims that his client had no terrorist plans. He points out that if he had such intentions, he could have carried them out in July while working on the stage construction for the Rammstein concert in Klagenfurt. At that time, however, no incidents occurred.
For now, investigators are trying to determine what exact roles the individual boys played in this disturbing plan.
The 15-year-old is already free
Meanwhile, the youngest of the three teenagers will not be charged in this matter. The 15-year-old boy from Vienna, from a family of Turkish descent, was released on Thursday evening. Although the police questioned him, he was considered a witness, not a suspect. According to information provided by investigators, his testimony, given under oath, helped confirm the charges against 19-year-old Beran A.
Detecting terrorist plans
For some time now, Austrian authorities have been focusing on the problem of the lack of legal means to infiltrate encrypted communicators such as WhatsApp, Signal, or Threema. Detecting criminal or terrorist plans communicated through these tools is mainly possible thanks to information from foreign partners, especially U.S. intelligence services.
