The Austrian government has announced plans to bolster the country’s capacity to combat terrorism in the wake of last week’s plot to target Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna.
Three teenagers, aged between 17 and 19, were arrested in Vienna and nearby Ternitz and remain in custody on suspicion of planning a terrorist attack against the U.S. pop star’s concerts on Aug. 8, 9, and 10, all of which were canceled by the organizers.
The chancellor, Karl Nehammer, wrote a post on X, saying, “The National Security Council is meeting today. I am presenting this body with a package of measures to ensure consistent action against terrorist activities.”
They included “combating political Islam,” including introducing laws to ban organizations that “seriously violate the values and basic principles of a European democratic state.”
Nehammer is also proposing the “reintroduction of conditional mandatory pre-trial detention without exceptions for young people” in cases of murder and terrorism.
Battle Over Encrypted Messages
One of the most controversial proposals is for the Austrian interior and defense ministries to be able to monitor the content of phone messages and to “control encrypted messages by introducing programs into a system or other suitable technical measures.”It’s currently not permitted under Austrian law to monitor messenger services or smartphone apps like Telegram and WhatsApp.
Nehammer, whose right-of-center party is seeking reelection next month, said after the plot was uncovered that Austria’s intelligence agencies need more power to hack into encrypted messages.
But Austria has strict privacy laws on personal data, and the ÖVP’s efforts to allow monitoring of phone messages have been strongly opposed by its coalition partners, the Greens.
Under Austrian law, none of those accused in connection with the Taylor Swift plot can be identified.
A defense lawyer representing the 19-year-old suspect has claimed the prosecution exaggerated the case against his client.
Werner Tomanek told the Austria Press Agency (APA) that his client had been indulging in “fantasies” and had no intention of mounting an actual attack on the Ernst Happel stadium, where the three concerts were being held.
Tomanek disputed the prosecution’s claims that his client had made a full confession.
He said, “He had neither the means nor the possibility and the explosives to carry this out.”
Tomanek said his client appeared to have mental health problems and that he was “a lone wolf without social contacts.”
He confirmed his client had made a pledge of allegiance to ISIS online but said it was “because he found it cool” and that he later deleted it.
Opinion polls suggest the ÖVP’s main challenger at the Sept. 29 parliamentary election could be the Freedom Party (FPÖ).
The FPÖ has promised to ban political Islam and has frequently claimed Austria is falling into “Islamisation.”
Historically, Austria and neighboring Hungary were at Christian Europe’s frontier with Islam.
In 1541, the expanding Ottoman Empire conquered Hungary, and in 1683, the Turks besieged Vienna for two months.
The tide eventually turned and Christian nations like Serbia and Bulgaria regained independence in the 19th century before the Ottoman Empire eventually collapsed in 1918.
Nehammer’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
