14-year-old terror suspect convicted in Austria

By NewsGram Staff Writer

A 14-year-old boy was sentenced to two years of prison by an Austrian court, as he had wished to participate in the war in Syria. Reportedly he also had plans to commit terrorist attacks in Vienna. The ruling was issued on Tuesday by a regional court in St. Polten, the capital of the Lower Austria, west of Vienna.

The accused is a Turkish citizen, living in Austria for eight years. Following his parents' divorce, he started watching online propaganda videos made by Islamic State seeking to recruit foreign fighters from Western countries, and later decided to travel to Syria to join the group.

Reportedly he had been told by someone that he could also participate in "holy war" in Austria, after which the boy surfed the Internet for instructions on how to make bombs. He also collected logistical information about how to carry out an attack in Westbahnhof, one of the two main railway stations in the Austrian capital.

Last year, the school which the boy was attending, reported him to the police. During the investigation, he confessed that he had been plotting terrorist attack, after which he was taken in by the police.

As reported by EFE, the Austrian national public service broadcaster, ORF, said that the accused must spend must spend at least eight months in prison and can only be released on parole if he sought psychological counseling.