Audio By Carbonatix
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 radicalised by Islamic State (IS) propaganda on the internet, was 14 when he helped the would-be attacker with a translation of bomb-making instructions from Arabic and put 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 organisers after the planned attack was uncovered by police.
The court said the teenager made a full confession to the charges.
At the time charges were brought, he was only identified as Mohamed A in line with German privacy laws.
Under a suspended sentence, convicts need to meet certain conditions to avoid being sent to prison.
Three suspects, all of whom were teenagers at the time, have also been detained by Austrian authorities over the plot.
An investigation into the main suspect, identified as Beran A, is ongoing. The 20-year-old Austrian, who is in custody, was arrested before the concerts following a tip-off from the CIA.
The US foreign intelligence service said the plotters had hoped to kill a large number of concert-goers.
Investigators allege Beran A had also planned to carry out an earlier attack in Dubai in March 2024.
Reports suggested it was part of a co-ordinated plot involving three simultaneous IS attacks but he had changed his mind at the last minute.
In August last year, Swift described the cancellation of her Vienna tour dates as "devastating".
"But I was also so grateful to the authorities because thanks to them, we were grieving concerts and not lives," she added.
Latest Stories
-
Bagre Dam nears spillage threshold as NADMO warns White Volta communities
1 minute -
China’s Xi likely to visit India with big delegation for first time in seven years
2 minutes -
CAF CL 2026/27: GoldStars CEO calls for adequate preparation ahead of Medeama clash against TP Mazembe
13 minutes -
Synthetic drugs pose growing challenge to Ghana’s anti-drug fight – Muntaka
20 minutes -
A tribute to Dr. Isaac Bampoe Addo
20 minutes -
Ghana removed 2,281 migrant beggars, 774 illegal immigrants in 2025 – Interior Minister
21 minutes -
Gov’t traces 73 assets linked to suspected drug trafficking networks – Muntaka
22 minutes -
Over 8,500kg of narcotics seized in 20 months – Muntaka
25 minutes -
Asantehene to tee off Millennium Excellence Week in Washington DC
25 minutes -
June 29 floods killed 39, affected nearly 92,000 people – Muntaka
28 minutes -
Barosky stranded on Manchester streets, appeals for help to return to GhanaÂ
29 minutes -
UAE bought $1m worth of flood relief items locally for June 29 victims – Muntaka
30 minutes -
2026 LCB Corporate Games underway with 16 port and logistics firms
34 minutes -
Government freezes GH¢6.9m and $440,000 linked to suspected drug trafficking
35 minutes -
217 arrested, 165 prosecutions initiated in drug crackdown – Interior Minister
37 minutes