Trial Scheduled for Alleged Attack Plans on Vienna Pride 2023

On July 15, a trial will commence at the Regional Court of St. Pölten for three young men accused of plotting an attack against the Vienna Pride event scheduled for June 17, 2023. The court spokesperson, Birgit Eisenmagen, confirmed the trial date to the Austrian Press Agency (APA) on Tuesday, indicating that only one day of hearings is currently planned.

The Defense Ministry revealed details of the alleged attack plans following the Pride event. According to the indictment, while an attack was not imminent, the three defendants--aged between 16 and 21--had discussed plans for violence in a Telegram group associated with radical Islamic ideologies. The youngest defendant, a student from Vienna, was only 14 at the time. His lawyer, Andreas Schweitzer, stated that the youth had accessed extremist propaganda and bomb-making instructions online and had engaged in discussions with like-minded individuals, attributing this behavior to misguided youthful curiosity. However, Schweitzer emphasized that his client had never seriously considered carrying out any planned attacks or traveling to IS-controlled territories.

From the prosecution's perspective, all three defendants were identified as followers of the Islamic State (IS) or its affiliate group, the Islamic State - Khorasan Province (ISKP). They connected with radicalized individuals in the Telegram group "psychology1444," where violent ideologies and plans were frequently discussed. For instance, a Ukrainian participant in the group expressed intentions to carry out a suicide bombing, while a 19-year-old defendant, a trainee living in St. Pölten, allegedly indicated plans to acquire an AK-47 assault rifle and a large knife to execute an attack during the Pride event.

The 19-year-old, who has reportedly embraced IS ideology since March 2022, disseminated this ideology through platforms such as TikTok and Telegram, as well as his PlayStation profile. Alongside his older brother, he allegedly encouraged the Ukrainian individual in his plans for a suicide attack. The older brother is reported to have promoted violence against non-believers in the chat. Additionally, both siblings shared images and videos depicting themselves making extremist hand gestures associated with Islamic groups.

The youngest accused, now 16, reportedly stated in a Threema chat between January 30 and February 2, 2023, that he intended to travel to a territory controlled by IS or ISKP to support their fighters. He sought advice on constructing particularly destructive explosives and on aiming weapons for potential attacks, as outlined in the indictment.

The alleged attack plans were made public only after the Pride event, when the Directorate for State Protection and Intelligence (DSN) held an emergency press conference announcing the foiling of the attack and subsequent raids at the homes of the accused. The investigation was prompted by information from an international partner intelligence service that had accessed the content of the Telegram chats. Following their arrest, the young men were quickly released due to insufficient evidence of imminent danger.