Man who planned attack on Taylor Swift concert in Vienna sentenced to 15 years in prison
According to information from the AP agency, before being sentenced, the man regretted the incident and described it as “the worst decision.”
A 21-year-old young man, identified as Beran A. according to Austrian privacy rules, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for planning a jihadist attack against a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna in 2024. The court found him guilty of terrorist crimes and membership in a terrorist organization, after having sworn allegiance to the Islamic State group.
According to the BBC, moments before the court retired to deliberate the verdict, the accused declared: “I would just like to say that I am sorry.” According to the AP agency. His lawyer, Anna Mair, had stated at the beginning of the trial that her client “deeply regrets everything” and that he considers this act “the biggest mistake of his life.”
Beran A. planned to attack the singer's followers with knives or homemade explosives at the Ernst Happel stadium in the Austrian capital. He has been detained since August 2024, when authorities discovered the plot and thwarted what could have been a massacre.
A larger plot
The accused is being tried alongside Arda K. According to the AP, the two planned to carry out simultaneous attacks along with a third man in Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates during Ramadan.
However, Beran A. pleaded not guilty to charges related to those simultaneous attacks, and was only charged directly in connection with the plot against Swift's concert.
Tens of thousands of Taylor Swift fans had traveled to Austria to attend the three concerts scheduled in August 2024 as part of her successful “Eras Tour.” After learning of the terrorist threat, the concerts were canceled, leading the “Swifties” to take to the streets of Vienna to join in shows of support.
The singer herself then spoke out on social media: "Walking across the stage in London was a rollercoaster of emotions. Having our concerts in Vienna canceled was devastating. The reason for the cancellations filled me with a new fear and enormous guilt because so many people had planned to come to those concerts. But I was also very grateful to the authorities because, thanks to them, we were mourning concerts and not lives."