In August 2024, Taylor Swift’s three concerts that were to be held in Vienna as part of the Eras Tour were canceled after authorities confirmed an attempted terrorist attack that left three people detained. Now, one of them has asked for forgiveness before the trial verdict.
The 21-year-old Austrian man, who has been referred to in court as Beran A., faces 20 years in prison for terrorist offenses and membership in a terrorist organization. The defendant pleaded guilty to the charges during the first day of trial, which took place last month.
Prosecutors claim that Beran A. aimed to attack people outside the Ernst Happel stadium with knives and homemade bombs. While the venue has a capacity of 65,000 people, more than 200,000 were expected to show up in Vienna during the three dates Swift had planned. Now, before his verdict, the accused has apologized: “I would like to say that I am sorry.”
The accused’s lawyer assured at the trial that his client was not an “ideological genius”, pointing to the other two people with whom he shares a trial and who are thought to have planned to carry out several simultaneous attacks in Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates during Ramadan. Only Beran A. has been charged in connection with the concert, pleading not guilty to the rest of the attacks.
