A Syrian national identified only as Mohamed A has been charged by German authorities with supporting a foreign terror group over a foiled plot to attack a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna last August.
The BBC reports the accused, who is described as a juvenile, is alleged to be a follower of the ideology of jihadist terrorists Islamic State (ISIS) and is also accused of helping another suspect to prepare the terror attack.
He is not in custody, prosecutors said. The court must now decide whether to bring the case to trial and when.
According to a statement from the prosecutor general seen by Reuters on Friday, Mohamed A allegedly assisted the would-be attacker by translating Arabic bomb-building instructions and facilitating online contact with a member of the ISIS.
“Mohammad A has adhered to the ideology of the terrorist organization Islamic State (IS) since April 2024 at the latest,” the statement said.
As Breitbart News reported, Taylor Swift’s management canceled three sold-out gigs on the eve of the first show at Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium last year, disappointing tens of thousands of fans during her Eras Tour.
Authorities arrested several suspects at the time saying they appeared to have been inspired by terrorist outfits ISIS and al-Qaeda.
Event organizer Barracuda Music said in a post on its Instagram channel “we have no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety.” It cited government officials’ “confirmation” of a planned attack at the stadium.
Austria’s coalition government earlier this month agreed on a plan to enable police to monitor suspects’ secure messaging in order to thwart militant attacks, ending what security officials have said is a rare and dangerous security blind spot.
In 2017, an attack at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England killed 22 people.
Suicide bomber Salman Abedi set up a knapsack bomb in Manchester Arena at the end of Grande’s concert as thousands of young fans were leaving. More than 100 people were injured. Terrorist Abedi died in the explosion.
An official inquiry reported last year that Britain’s domestic intelligence agency, MI5, didn’t act swiftly enough on key information and missed a significant opportunity to prevent the bombing, the deadliest extremist attack in the U.K. in recent years, AP reported.
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