Terror trial against young people: 18 months in prison
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A 16-year-old student from the city of Salzburg was sentenced to 18 months in prison for supporting terrorism. The Chechen had supported the terrorist militia IS – among other things by distributing execution videos on the Internet.
The judgment is not final. The public prosecutor is still considering whether to appeal.
The court cited membership in a terrorist organization as a reason for the verdict. The small and rather corpulent teenager was led into the courtroom on Wednesday by four masked prison officers wearing protective vests. There were also half a dozen police officers in front of the hall because the judiciary takes the 16-year-old and his zeal for IS very seriously.
Video: Football with a severed head
The accused called himself a religious Chechen in court. He was radicalized online, believing that IS only kills criminals and that people are happy under IS rule. According to the court, he also distributed videos of murders and executions – for example “football” with a severed head of a person.
The fact that he even drew IS propaganda while he was still in custody – including the beheading of his geometric defense attorney – was what the 16-year-old called “ashamed and embarrassing” in court on Wednesday. He wants to leave these scenes behind. The judge in charge said that he was brainwashed. The sentence of 18 months imprisonment is not final. The youngster accepted it. However, the public prosecutor’s office is still considering whether it is strong enough or whether they will still file an appeal.
Recruited as a supporter of terrorist militia
A stranger contacted him years ago to solicit support for the terrorist militia, the youth told the court. At first he said no, but then he was convinced. In addition, propaganda songs would have been enthusiastic, saying, for example: “… slaughter infidels, kill police officers, we’ll bomb you into the fire”.
Instructions for cluster bombs
According to the indictment, the young person is said to have forwarded videos glorifying violence – including those of executions and murders – to online platforms. He also shared naschids – these are originally religious, heroic songs, but have been reinterpreted as anthems of the radical Islamist scene. Terrorists and Islamists use it to underline their propaganda videos in order to improve their impact on young people. For experts, this is the music “that shapes jihadists”. The Chechen is also said to have shared instructions for building cluster bombs on the Internet.