Central station terrorist

Vienna attacker was the role model for IS supporters

The 16-year-old IS supporter announced the terrorist attack at Vienna Central Station in a chat group.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV,Gerhard Bartel, zVg, Krone KREATIV)

Just like the Vienna attacker of November 2, 2020, Kujtim F., a 16-year-old proudly posted a photo shortly before his planned attack. Fortunately, he lost his courage at his destination - Vienna Central Station. The analysis of his cell phone speaks volumes. 

"I lost my courage" - probably the only reason why no massacre took place at Vienna Central Station on September 11, 2023. Armed with a knife and wearing a gilet designed to imitate a bomb belt, a 16-year-old IS supporter got off the subway there, but decided to change his mind at the last moment.

"Fear of not going to paradise"
But not because he realized the injustice of a terrorist attack in the name of the Islamic State. He explained to the police: "I was afraid of being arrested or detained by someone, and of surviving the attack and not going to paradise." However, he still considered his attack plan to be "correct".

Kujtim F. as a great role model for the accused
The radicalization of the young Viennese man runs deep, as confirmed not only by an expert witness, but also by frightening chat messages shortly before the planned terrorist attack. Proudly posing with a knife and an outstretched index finger, a popular gesture with IS, he presents himself in a chat group minutes before arriving at the train station - an image reminiscent of the Vienna attacker Kujtim F. Whom the accused named to the police as his great role model.

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Fotos

And the planned attack is not the only indication of the radical mindset of the now 17-year-old. On July 7 last year, he sent a picture of himself in front of a blackboard - on which he had painted the IS logo. The picture is adorned with lettering such as "The polytheists and infidels will be punished by God". The Vienna public prosecutor's office has also charged 14 other items, including messages, shared IS propaganda and nashids, religious chants, some with radical content.

Even the teenager's Google queries speak volumes: "bomb jacket terrorist"; "Isis bomb jacket"; "how to make molotov bomb" - searched by the native Viennese in the same broken English in which he wrote his chat messages. He also watched videos on YouTube on how to make Molotov cocktails. 

The last few months in custody have led my client to a lasting change of heart and he deeply regrets his behavior at the time.

Anwalt David Jodlbauer

Bild: zVg

Deradicalization programme in custody
past, lawyer David Jodlbauer assures the "Krone" newspaper. The deradicalization programme in pre-trial detention would work well for the 17-year-old. As an expert opinion has already confirmed, he is easy to influence and very susceptible to negative influences. According to the expert, he has a "personality with a low expectation of self-efficacy and at the same time a great need to belong and an unrealistically high desire for success and recognition."

He is still waiting for a trial date at the Vienna Regional Court. In any case, the young Viennese will initially plead guilty in full, his defense lawyer Jodlbauer announced. In a hardship case, his client faces up to five years in prison for the crimes of terrorist association and criminal organization.