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Austrian teen jailed after using Playstation to download Islamic State propaganda and bomb-making plans
14-year-old boy downloaded instructions on his Playstation and planned to detonate homemade device at train station in name of Islamic State
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 26 May, 2015, 10:43pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 26 May, 2015, 10:46pm
Agence France-Presse in Vienna
The teen was arrested after downloading Islamic State propaganda and instructions on how to assemble a homemade bomb.Photo: Reuters
A 14-year-old boy from Austria who downloaded bomb-making plans onto his Playstation games console has been sentenced to eight months in jail after pleading guilty to terrorism charges.
The teenager of Turkish origin was found guilty of belonging to a "terrorist" organisation and given an additional suspended jail sentence of 16 months by a court in his hometown of Sankt-Poelten.
According to the charge sheet, the teenager, who emigrated from Turkey in 2007, wanted to detonate homemade bombs in Austria in the name of the Islamic State (IS) group, before travelling to join "holy war" in Syria.
Police had said at the time of his arrest in October last year that the boy made "concrete enquiries about buying ingredients" for a bomb and "planned to explode the devices in public places, such as the Vienna Westbahnhof", a major train station.
His lawyer Rudolf Mayer said the boy - who he said grew up "without a father" and who turns 15 in the coming days - had only been "playing with the idea" of making a bomb.
Placed in a special school for troubled children where "prospects for professional development are almost inexistent", the boy had "looked for recognition, to belong to something," Mayer told the court.
"Imagine the power of propaganda that says to young people who feel they are living an empty existence: 'You can do something good, and get money and women'," he said.
It was his own family who alerted authorities to his growing radicalisation. Police found violent images and IS propaganda on the teen's computer, mobile phone and Playstation games console. The public prosecutor told the court that the defendant expressed "no feelings of guilt".
Vienna Westbahnhof station.
The baby-faced teenager appeared in court in a grey hooded top. He listened in silence to opening comments from the prosecution and his attorney before media were ejected. The authorities asked the media not to name the boy because of his age.
He has been in custody since January after breaking the terms of his bail. Because of his young age he had faced up to five years behind bars. Unconfirmed press reports said that IS jihadists had offered to pay him €25,000 (HK$213,000) if he managed to carry out the attack.
In common with other European countries, Austria has seen a steady flow of people leaving or attempting to leave the country in order to join IS. According to the Austrian interior ministry, more than 200 have done so.
One of those who wanted to go was a 16-year-old girl who went on trial separately in Vienna yesterday, but was acquitted on charges of belonging to a "terrorist" organisation.
The girl, wearing an Islamic dress, told the court that she converted to Islam in 2014 because it was "for me the most beautiful religion" and because in Christianity "children get raped".
Last year she got to know on the internet Jusip D, an 18-year-old of Chechen origin who wanted to join IS. The two got married under Islamic law and the next day he left for Syria.
She wanted to follow him but her mother prevented her from leaving and took away her passport. In February, she tried again to leave, saving up €300 (HK$2,500) for a bus ticket to Istanbul, but was arrested the day before her intended departure.
Additional reporting by Reuters
