In connection with a suspected foiled attack on a planned Taylor Swift concert at Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium on August 9, 2024, the German Federal Prosecutor’s Office in Karlsruhe has filed charges against a possible accomplice of the main suspect, Beran A., who is currently in pre-trial detention in Vienna. This was confirmed to APA by spokeswoman Ines Peterson. The teenager is alleged to have assisted Beran A. in preparing the attack.

Specifically, the 15-year-old — a Syrian-born boy living in Brandenburg — is said to have been in close contact with Beran A. since mid-July 2024. Before Beran A.’s arrest, the teenager allegedly translated bomb-making instructions from Arabic and established contact with an ISIS member abroad via the internet on behalf of the 20-year-old Lower Austrian. Beran A., who was registered in Ternitz (Neunkirchen district), is also said to have received a text template for an ISIS oath of allegiance from the teenager, which he used to formally declare his allegiance to the Islamist terror group. Beran A. then posted a video of this oath online.

Charges filed in Berlin against 15-year-old

The indictment against the Syrian youth was filed on June 17 before the State Security Senate of the Berlin Higher Regional Court, Peterson stated. He will face charges of supporting a foreign terrorist organization and preparing a serious act of violence endangering the state. He is believed to have subscribed to ISIS ideology since at least April 2024.

The teenager remains at large, due to his very young age and “special circumstances,” Peterson explained to APA. The period of alleged involvement was brief, and the 15-year-old is not suspected of having “taken any action himself.” There is no evidence he planned to participate in any actual attack. He also has “a very stable family environment,” making pre-trial detention disproportionate.

Only virtual contact with Beran A.

Both Peterson and the Vienna public prosecutor’s office confirmed to APA that the 15-year-old had only virtual contact with Beran A. It is believed the two never met in person.

“We obtained the files on the suspect living in Germany through legal assistance from German authorities,” said Judith Ziska, spokesperson for the Vienna prosecutor’s office, on Friday. The findings from German investigators and especially the statements by the 15-year-old are “significant for our case.”

IS network around Beran A. evident

With the involvement of the young Syrian, it becomes increasingly clear that Beran A. had formed a multi-member ISIS network. Since late spring 2023, he had close ties to other suspected ISIS followers of similar age: Hasan E., a young man from the Neunkirchen district, and Arda K., a Slovak national registered in Vienna. Starting in February 2024, the trio allegedly planned attacks in Mecca, Dubai, and Istanbul, intended to take place simultaneously at the beginning of Ramadan on March 11.

According to the Vienna prosecutor’s office, the Slovakian was supposed to carry out the attack in Istanbul but did not follow through. He flew to Istanbul on March 4, 2024, where Hasan E. had already arrived. After spending several days sightseeing and shopping for perfumes, Arda K. returned to Vienna, while Hasan E. traveled on to Mecca.

There, the young Lower Austrian did in fact commit an attack. Using a knife purchased at a market, he stabbed five people near the Al-Haram Mosque, seriously injuring some of them. He was arrested and has since been charged with nine counts by Saudi authorities. According to APA information, the 20-year-old is currently held in Dhahban, a Saudi high-security prison housing 7,500 inmates, including political prisoners and members of terrorist groups like ISIS. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have repeatedly reported abuse and torture in the facility — claims denied by Saudi authorities.

Investigation against Beran A. ongoing

Beran A., who was supposed to carry out the Dubai attack within the trio, also abandoned the plan and returned to Ternitz. He appears to have shifted his focus in summer 2024 to planning an attack on Taylor Swift’s three-day concert series at the Happel Stadium. Thanks to a tip-off from a foreign intelligence partner, Austria’s State Security and Intelligence Directorate (DSN) was alerted in time and arrested Beran A. on August 7.

“The investigations into Beran A. and Arda K. are still ongoing. Both are in custody,” said prosecutor’s spokeswoman Ziska. New evaluations of Beran A.’s cloud data are continuously adding to the already extensive body of evidence.

Charges and court date for another ISIS associate of Beran A.

There is already a formal indictment and a scheduled trial date for another ISIS associate of Beran A. Eighteen-year-old Luca K., arrested the same day as Beran A., had been set to help with stage setup at the Swift concerts and was initially suspected of aiding the main suspect in his terrorist intentions.

The 21-page indictment, which will be heard on July 25 at the Wiener Neustadt Regional Court and was reviewed by APA, does not mention direct involvement in plans to attack Taylor Swift’s fans (“Swifties”). However, Luca K. reportedly maintained close contact with Beran A. and shared a radical Islamist worldview that glorified ISIS. In early April 2024, he warned Beran A. against attending a particular mosque because it allegedly “allowed Western values like elections and the police,” the indictment states.

On June 30, Luca K., then 17, spent time with Beran A. and filmed him during a car ride as he held a knife bearing the ISIS symbol. Luca later sent the video — set to a nasheed (Islamic chant) — to his older friend. This act, according to the Wiener Neustadt prosecutor, reinforced Beran A.’s decision to continue his involvement with ISIS.

Pledge of allegiance to IS caliph

In June 2024, Luca K. allegedly swore allegiance to the current ISIS caliph in Vienna-Meidling together with another ISIS follower. This associate, also 18, is scheduled to appear in Vienna court next Monday on charges of terrorist association and criminal organization. During the oath, Luca K. mimicked the pose of the Vienna attacker from November 2, 2020 — holding a knife in one hand and a gun in the other, arms crossed before his chest.

Three weeks later, Luca K. will face charges of terrorist association and criminal organization in his own trial in Wiener Neustadt. He is accused of possessing and distributing extensive ISIS propaganda. “My client has been in custody for nearly a year — mostly as a minor — for an act he clearly didn’t plan and which he now isn’t even charged with,” said his lawyer Michael Dohr, referring to the initial suspicion of involvement in the Swift attack. Dohr added: “Given that, it’s hard to understand why the Swift concerts were canceled — there was no real danger, and if my client was the reason, that seems misguided. Even American intelligence gets things wrong sometimes.”

Next Wednesday, a girl born in 2009 from the Baden district will face trial in Wiener Neustadt on charges of terrorist association. She allegedly communicated with Luca K. and sent radical Islamist and ISIS-glorifying content via messenger services — including a message expressing her willingness to carry out an attack. She also reportedly shared ISIS videos on TikTok. The alleged period of offense spans from July to October 2024.