Four guilty verdicts

Defendants bring baby to IS trial

The Austrian woman is the only one with a relevant criminal record.

(Bild: Dostal Harald, Krone KREATIV)

Four young Upper Austrians have been on trial at Linz Provincial Court since Thursday morning for allegedly spreading IS propaganda on social media, recruiting members offline and setting up a private mosque for Islamists in their rented apartment. All four have only partially confessed.

Four young Upper Austrians are alleged to have glorified the Islamic State on social media, recruited new members offline and set up a mosque for extreme Islamists in the rented family apartment. An Iraqi (16), a Russian (17), a Croatian and his Austrian wife under Islamic law (both 19) had to answer for this at the Linz Regional Court on Thursday.

Big crowd 
The trial attracted a great deal of media interest and the courtroom was also well filled. At the same time, a large quantity of crystal meth and a cheque card knife were discovered at the entrance gate - but neither of these finds were connected to the trial in the "61er", the Linz jury courtroom.

Not fully confessed
None of the four defendants fully confessed and all of them denied parts of the extensive and punishable charges. All but the 19-year-old had no criminal record; she had already been convicted of membership of a terrorist organization and damage to property at the beginning of 2023.

Not to be taken seriously?
The 16-year-old first defendant, an Iraqi born in Greece, described how he became increasingly radicalized by videos on social media, mainly Instagram and TikTok, until he finally ended up listening to the sermons of an Islamist who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence in Austria. The fact that he and his co-defendants had only made fun of the content, for example by re-enacting a beheading video just for fun and irony, met with little understanding from the judge.

Family fled because of Islamists
The 16-year-old also reported on his about-turn: it was only after the first search of his parents' home that they told him that they had fled Iraq because his grandfather and uncle had been killed by Islamists. They were also shocked by his radical "role models" and their views and made it clear to him that these organizations were only interested in recruiting young people for their inhumane purposes. He then distanced himself from the scene and the two 19-year-olds.

Baby noises in the jury courtroom
Due to a lack of childcare in the prison and court, the young son of the two 19-year-old defendants also found himself in the dock until the young mother and her child were temporarily released into an adjoining room. 

Longer than expected
Due to the very extensive indictment, several witnesses, including a young man from St. Pölten who had already been convicted, the trial dragged on.

The public prosecutor saw the 16- and 17-year-old as having insight, as did the 19-year-old in contrast to her partner. In her case, however, it would not be possible without an unconditional sentence due to her previous conviction and rapid relapse. The defense lawyers demanded acquittals for several facts of the indictment and otherwise lenient sentences.

Deradicalization programme
As juveniles, the 16- and 17-year-olds were threatened with prison sentences of up to five years each; due to their integrity and remorse, they were given six months conditional sentences. The 19-year-olds were threatened with one to ten years. In addition to the conditional prison sentence of 13 months, the man received a fine of 120 daily rates of 20 euros each, while his partner was given 16 months of a 24-month conditional prison sentence. All four must take part in a deradicalization programme, and the two 19-year-olds must also make use of probation assistance.

 The three male defendants accepted the sentences. The accused woman and the public prosecutor made no statement. The verdict is therefore not legally binding. The 19-year-old, who was last in custody, will be released.