Austrian jihadist jailed for 15 years for Taylor Swift concert attack plan

Beran A told the court on the opening day of his trial last month that he roamed Dubai in March 2024 in search of victims to stab but then had a panic attack when he tried to strike. Upon his return to Vienna, he resolved to go further and eventually chose the concert as his target.

He and Arda K denied, however, providing moral support to the third man, who was arrested in Mecca on suspicion of stabbing a security official at the holy city's Grand Mosque. He is still in custody in Saudi Arabia.

Closing arguments were so focused on that aspect that they did not even mention the Swift concert specifically. Beran A's lawyer, Anna Mair, and Arda K's lawyer, David Jodlbauer, repeated that their clients did not provide material support to the third man and if anything it was the other way around.

"Beran is not a leader. He is not an ideological mastermind," Mair said in her summing up.

The jury, however, found him guilty on all but two of 15 points put to it, including providing moral support to the third man. It also found Arda K guilty of all charges and sentenced him to 12 years in prison.