Teenager Convicted in Terror Plot Against Taylor Swift Concert in Vienna

The 16-year-old who helped prepare a failed terrorist attack at a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna, Austria, last year has been convicted in Germany, reports the BBC. Mohamed A, a Syrian national living in Germany who was 14 at the time of the planned attack, made a full confession to the charges. He was given an 18-month suspended sentence under juvenile criminal law in Berlin court yesterday (August 26). Prosecutors claimed Mohamed A was radicalized by Islamic State terrorist group propaganda online when he helped the other two would-be attackers by translating bomb-building instructions from Arabic.

Concert organizers called off all three of Swift’s shows at Vienna’s Ernst-Happel-Stadion last August after police were informed of a credible threat. Nearly 200,000 people had been expected to attend the concerts. Ultimately, the plan was thwarted and nobody was harmed.

Police arrested three people in connection with the alleged terror plot. Main suspect Beran A, an Austrian man who was 19 at the time of his arrest, remains in custody and an investigation into his role is ongoing. (Investigators allege Beran A also planned to carry out an attack in Dubai in March 2024, notes the BBC.) The second suspect, who was 17 at the time of his arrest, has since been released without charge. Mohamed A was the third suspect, and while he could not be held in custody because of his status as a minor, he was charged by German prosecutors back in June.

“Having our Vienna shows cancelled was devastating. But I was also so grateful to the authorities because thanks to them, we were grieving concerts and not lives,” Swift said in an Instagram post after the reason for the Vienna tour dates’ cancellation became public knowledge. “Let me be very clear: I am not going to speak about something publicly if I think doing so might provoke those who would want to harm the fans who come to my shows. In cases like this one, ‘silence’ is actually showing restraint, and waiting to express yourself at a time when it’s right to. My priority was finishing our European tour safely, and it is with great relief that I can say we did that.”