Terror trial: Two years in prison for 14-year-old in Austria
Published: Tuesday, Oct 22nd 2024, 16:30
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A 14-year-old girl who allegedly plotted an Islamist-motivated terrorist attack has been sentenced to two years in prison in Austria. The IS sympathizer was found guilty of terrorist association and the crime of criminal organization at the regional court in Graz.
According to the public prosecutor's office, the accused had communicated with a girl in Germany in a chat about a knife attack in a busy square in the center of Graz. The conversation partner was arrested and German authorities informed the Austrian police. The public prosecutor's office did not give any details about the suspect in Germany when asked by the German Press Agency.
In search of friends at the IS
According to the prosecution, the 14-year-old girl discussed the possibility of a suicide attack with a second person. The girl mentioned a church, a police station or a supermarket as possible targets.
"I wanted real friends who would accept me for who I am, and that's what the IS people have," the girl said in court. She had downloaded relevant pictures and videos, but was not a member of an IS group. She had planned the knife attack, but not a bomb attack, she had not wanted to build a bomb, she testified. "I wanted to belong," she explained about a video in which she swore allegiance to the Islamic State. The girl had also shared a cat video with IS lettering.
Sentence without probation
The defendant's lawyer argued that most of the accusations related to the time before his client's 14th birthday last May, when she was still of criminal age.
However, the court imposed a sentence without probation. The defendant had become radicalized over the course of a year and had "extensive knowledge", said the judge. The judge argued that imprisonment was necessary so that the girl would not be influenced by a chat or a video again. The verdict is not yet final.
©Keystone/SDA
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