St. Stephen's Cathedral, train station

All five terror suspects released from custody

Vienna Central Station and St. Stephen's Cathedral were suspected targets.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/stock.adobe.com)

Bang effect in two acts of terror: Both the 17-year-old who wanted to carry out an IS attack at Vienna Central Station with a knife and the four suspected ISPK supporters who allegedly targeted St. Stephen's Cathedral for an attack before Christmas are no longer in custody at Josefstadt Prison.

The 17-year-old who wanted to carry out a terrorist attack at Vienna Central Station last September spent just 30 days in prison. Using a knife, he planned to stab "infidels" indiscriminately in the name of IS and only turned back on an escalator.

Residential group in Styria 
He was sentenced to two years in Landl on April 11 for membership of a terrorist organization - eight months of which were actually spent in prison. He served seven in pre-trial detention. Ali K. has been free again since May 10 and lives in a shared flat run by the WOBES association.

Vienna Central Station and St. Stephen's Cathedral were suspected targets of the attack

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/stock.adobe.com)

Close-knit individual therapy, participation in a DERAD deradicalization programme and anti-violence training are now intended to keep the youngster in check. "I am confident that Ali can be freed from his ideological confusion," said lawyer Rudolf Mayer to "Krone". The MA 11 would also make an effort for the 17-year-old: from June he has a place in a residential group in Styria.

I am confident that Ali can be freed from the ideological confusion.

Rechtsanwalt Rudolf Mayer

Terror suspects from Steffl now in detention pending deportation
The four suspects who carried out a terrorist attack on St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna around Christmas have also been released. The Vienna public prosecutor's office filed an application for release on Thursday after "there was no longer any urgent suspicion".

I see it confirmed that there is no urgent suspicion here. This was shown by the results of the investigation.

Verteidiger Andreas Schweitzer über die Enthaftung des verdächtigen Ehepaars.

Bild: Markus Tschepp

The authorities confirmed to the "Krone" the "Puls 24" report that the Turkish-Tajik couple as well as a man from Dagestan and a suspect extradited from Germany were handed over to the Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum on Thursday morning. They are now in detention pending deportation - for up to 18 months. "However, the proceedings are still pending," said the spokesperson for the Vienna public prosecutor's office.

Two days ago, lawyer Andreas Schweitzer, the defense attorney for the suspected couple, also submitted an application for release. This was prompted by excavations in Lower Austria as part of the investigation into weapons and terrorist material that were supposedly hidden there. However, these were unsuccessful and the suspicion was not confirmed. The public prosecutor's office now had to agree.