Teen Sentenced for Fiendish Plot to Attack Taylor Swift Concert in Vienna

A 16-year-old who helped to prepare a foiled attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna last year has avoided prison. Mohamed A was given an 18-month suspended sentence under juvenile criminal law in Berlin on Tuesday.

The Syrian, who prosecutors said was radicalized by Islamic State (IS) propaganda on the internet, was 14 when he aided the would-be attacker with translating bomb-making instructions from Arabic and putting him in contact with an IS member.

Swift's three sold-out gigs at Vienna's Ernst Happel Stadium were called off in August last year by concert organizers after the planned attack was uncovered by police.

The court stated that the teenager made a full confession to the charges. Due to German privacy laws, at the time charges were brought, he was only referred to as Mohamed A.

Three other suspects, all teens at the time, have also been detained by Austrian authorities over the foiled plot. The main suspect, identified as Beran A, is currently held in custody after being arrested before the concerts, following a tip-off from the CIA. US intelligence revealed that the plotters intended to cause mass casualties among concert-goers.

Reports suggest Beran A initially planned another attack in Dubai that was supposed to happen in March 2024. Investigators believed it was part of a coordinated plan involving three simultaneous IS attacks, but he had changed his mind at the last moment.

In August last year, Swift described the cancellation of her Vienna tour dates as devastating, expressing gratitude to authorities for preventing potential tragedy. Thanks to them, we were grieving concerts and not lives, she remarked.