29 May,2026 07:30 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Taylor Swift. Pic via Instagram
An Austrian court sentenced a 21-year-old to 15 years in prison on Thursday for planning a terror attack at Taylor Swift's concert. The man reportedly admitted to planning a foiled Islamist attack at the singer's concert in Vienna in 2024. The court passed the verdict after finding him guilty of various terrorism-related offences.
21-year-old Beran A, whose last name has not been made public in accordance with Austrian privacy rules, was reportedly arrested on August 7, 2024, a day before the first of three planned concerts in the Austrian capital.
Unfortunately, despite his arrest, all three dates were cancelled. Taylor Swift afterwards said that it was "devastating."
Beran A, who is Austrian, pleaded guilty to charges related to the planned attack, which carried a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. He reportedly covered his face with a ring binder as he entered the courtroom in Wiener Neustadt, a town south of the capital, to avoid being identifiable in pictures. In his final statement after the closing statement, he said, "I would just like to say that I am sorry."
Beran A reportedly tried but failed to illegally buy weapons, including a machine gun and a hand grenade. He then followed instructions in an Islamic State video titled, "Make a bomb in the kitchen of your mom" to create a small amount of the explosive triacetone triperoxide (TATP).
The man was also accused of plotting separately with two school friends to carry out a solo attack earlier in 2024 in separate Middle Eastern cities. During the trial, he and co-defendant Arda K admitted they travelled to Dubai and Istanbul, respectively, to carry out attacks, but then did not follow through.
Beran A also told the court on the opening day of his trial that he roamed Dubai in March 2024 in search of victims to stab. However, he had a panic attack when he tried to strike. Upon his return to Vienna, he decided to go further and eventually chose the concert as his target.
The closing arguments were so focused on that fact that they did not even mention the Swift concert specifically. Beran A's lawyer, Anna Mair, and Arda K's lawyer, David Jodlbauer, argued that their clients did not provide any material support to the third man. "Beran is not a leader. He is not an ideological mastermind," Mair said in her final statement.
The jury found him guilty on all but two of 15 points, including providing moral support to the third man. It also declared Arda K guilty of all charges and sentenced him to 12 years in prison.
