The trial of a man accused of plotting a terror attack at a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna in 2024 opened on Tuesday in Wiener Neustadt, near the Austrian capital.

The defendant, an Austrian national identified as Beran A., was arrested on August 7, 2024, the day before the first of three planned concerts by the superstar singer in Vienna.

Those concerts were among the last shows of Swift's sold-out Eras Tour, with organizers having planned dozens of other events surrounding the concerts.

The planned attack was thwarted with the help of US intelligence, leading organizers to cancel all three shows, disappointing fans.

Public prosecutors said in a 2024 statement that the Austrian man had declared allegiance to the so-called Islamic State terror group by sharing propaganda material.

Prosecutors are trying the defendant on various terrorism-related offenses, as well as belonging to a criminal organization and making dangerous threats.

Vienna prosecutors allege Beran A. planned attacks in the Middle East with another Slovakian man and helped a third man arrested on suspicion of a knife attack in Mecca.

Beran A. and the Slovakian man never carried out their plans in the Middle East, which involved alleged attacks in Dubai and Istanbul.

'He is pleading guilty regarding the whole Taylor Swift affair,' Beran A.'s lawyer Anna Mair said before the trial began, adding that he would plead not guilty to the other allegations.

Beran A. faces 10 to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Source: www.dw.com