IS terror in Vienna: Syrian refugee convicted - four years in prison!

IS terror in Vienna: Syrian refugee convicted - four years in prison!

A 39-year-old Syrian who fled to Austria in 2019 had to answer in a Vienna court for his supposed connection to the "Islamic State" (IS). The man who lived and worked unobtrusively in Vienna until his arrest in May 2024 was recently sentenced to four years in prison. This is reported by the Kleine Zeitung .

The accused requested asylum in Austria in 2019, which was approved in 2020. He lived in a rental apartment with his wife and six children and had never been delinquent until the indictment, according to his defender Michael Drexler. The accused initially asserted his innocence, but surprisingly accepted the judgment, which the prosecutor initially brought to the same conviction without further statements.

accusations and evidence

The indictment accuses the Syrian of being a supervisor in an IS women's prison and systematically terroristed Yeside. In the court hearing on the second day of the trial, the prosecutor presented new evidence that burdened the accused. A V-man had given the German authorities information that pointed out a Facebook account that published articles with IS relocation in Syria in 2016. A total of 22 image contributions were discovered, on which the accused was depicted with an AK-47 and an IS flag. In the course of these investigations, the State Criminal Police Office in Germany sent the evidence to the Austrian constitutional protection.

A facial biometric report showed with a probability of 83.48 %that the accused can be seen in an IS propaganda video. This video documented military actions and showed mutilated corpses and the absorption of a captured man by an IS fighter. In addition, stress witnesses stated that they could identify the defendant in these contexts.

the IS and its ideology

The ideology of the "Islamic State" has survived after the end of the caliphate and continues to exist in the form of jihadist propaganda. Experts of the protection of the constitution find that official and unofficial IS propaganda is still intensively operated. This includes calls for attacks in the West as well as instructions for the production of explosives and weapons, often balanced on platforms such as Telegram, where the distribution is fragmented. The Constitutional protection emphasizes that the German-speaking IS support scene is still active and current IS publications in German Translated.

Although the accused indicates that they are innocent and represents the allegations as false accusations of hostile compatriots, the proven evidence show a worrying picture. The punishments against members and supporters of IS, such as these accused, are part of a greater European endeavor to consistently combat jihadist activities and their ideology.

The court decision is currently not final, but could have far-reaching implications for the discussion about the return and dealing with former IS fighters in Europe.