VIENNA: A lawyer for the main suspect in an alleged plot to attack now-canceled Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna said Tuesday that authorities’ presentation of the case is exaggerated, and his client wouldn’t have been able to carry out plans that the attorney described as “fantasies.”
The 19-year-old Austrian man, whose name hasn’t been released because of Austrian privacy rules, was arrested last Wednesday — one of three people who were detained. Hours later, organizers canceled the concerts that Swift was scheduled to play Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the Austrian capital’s Ernst Happel Stadium. Fans were devastated by the decision.
Austrian officials have said that the suspect wanted to carry out an attack outside the stadium, killing as many people as possible using knives or home-made explosives. They say that, during a raid of the suspect’s home, investigators found chemical substances and technical devices.
Authorities said last week that the man confessed that he had started planning the attack in July. Defense lawyer Werner Tomanek told the Austria Press Agency that he hasn’t yet had access to the case files, but cited a “fragmentary record” of his client’s initial questioning to dispute their account of a full confession.
“He had neither the means nor the possibility and the explosives to carry this out,” Tomanek said. He added that authorities’ allegations against the 19-year-old suspect were “overacting at its best,” and contended that they are “presenting this exaggeratedly” in order to get new surveillance powers.
Tomanek said that his client appeared to have mental problems and described him as “a lone wolf without social contacts.” He said that “the alleged attack plans were pure fantasies.”
The lawyer said that, in his first questioning by investigators, his client had admitted “in principle to Islamist tendencies” and conceded that he had sought and found “contact with such people online,” APA reported. He added that the young man did make a pledge of loyalty to the Daesh group and put it online, but said he deleted it shortly after.
Asked why his client did so, Tomanek replied: “Because he found it cool.” He said the man wanted to imitate poses struck by the assailant in a Nov. 2, 2020, attack in Vienna in which four people were killed and the gunman — who had a previous conviction for trying to join Daesh in Syria — also was killed.
Swift has five concerts at London’s Wembley Stadium scheduled starting on Thursday.
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Lawyer for suspect in alleged plot against Taylor Swift concerts says allegations are exaggerated
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Lawyer for suspect in alleged plot against Taylor Swift concerts says allegations are exaggerated
- Defense lawyer Werner Tomanek said: “He had neither the means nor the possibility and the explosives to carry this out”
- Tomanek said that his client appeared to have mental problems and described him as “a lone wolf without social contacts”
Campaigning starts for Bangladesh’s first national election after Hasina’s ouster
DHAKA: Campaigning began Thursday for Bangladesh’s first national elections since the 2024 uprising that ousted longtime Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The major political parties held campaign rallies in the capital, Dhaka, and elsewhere ahead of Feb. 12 election, which is seen as the most consequential in Bangladesh’s history as it follows Hasina’s ouster and is being held under an interim government with voters also deciding on proposed political reforms.
The interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus has pledged to hold a free and fair election, but questions were raised after his administration banned Hasina’s former ruling Awami League party. The Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party have historically dominated the country’s electorate.
There are also concerns about the country’s law and order situation, but the government says they will keep the voting peaceful.
Yunus assumed office three days after Hasina left the country for India on Aug. 5, 2024, following the deaths of hundreds of protesters and others in a violent crackdown.
With the Awami League excluded from the election, a 10-party alliance led by Jamaat-e-Islami, an Islamist party, is seeking to expand its influence. Jamaat-e-Islami has long faced criticism from secular groups who say its positions challenge Bangladesh’s secular foundations. A new party formed by student leaders of the uprising, the National Citizen Party, or NCP, is also part of the alliance.
Tarique Rahman, BNP chairman and the son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, is widely seen as a leading contender for prime minister. His party has drawn strong support rooted in the political legacy of his mother, who died last month. Rahman returned to Bangladesh last month after 17 years in exile in the United Kingdom.
Rahman launched his campaign in the northeastern city of Sylhet with an address to thousands of supporters at a rally Thursday. He is scheduled to visit several other districts in the coming days.
In Sylhet, Rahman criticized the Jamaat-e-Islami party for using religious sentiment to get votes. He said that if elected, he would uphold national sovereignty and work for women and young people.
“Now we must establish the right to vote, rebuild the nation, and make it economically self-reliant,” he said.
Jamaat-e-Islami and the NCP began their campaigns in the capital, Dhaka.
“There are terrorism (crimes), extortion, corruption and forcible possession, (our fight) is against them to establish a just Bangladesh, and alongside to build a safe Dhaka for women and children,” said Nasiruddin Patwari, a leader of the National Citizen Party.
The election will also include a referendum on a national charter, with the interim government seeking voter support for what it describes as a new political course built on reforms. The charter was signed last year by 25 of the country’s 52 registered political parties. The Awami League opposed the idea and several other parties declined to sign the document.
Rahman’s return has reenergized his supporters.
“Under his leadership, in the coming time we want to see a self-reliant Bangladesh and organizing this country through a democratic process,” said Ali Akbar Rajan, a BNP supporter, at Rahman’s rally in Sylhet. “He will emerge as a successful statesman, that is what we hope for,“
The July National Charter, named after the uprising that began in July 2024 and led to the fall of Hasina, is currently nonbinding. Supporters of the charter say a referendum is needed to make it legally binding and a part of the constitution. Only Parliament can change the constitution in Bangladesh.
The interim government says the charter would bring more checks and balances to avoid authoritarian administrations, including by giving the presidency more authority to balance what had been a powerful prime minister position. It also proposes term limits for legislators, and measures to prevent conflicts of interest, money laundering and corruption.
The major political parties held campaign rallies in the capital, Dhaka, and elsewhere ahead of Feb. 12 election, which is seen as the most consequential in Bangladesh’s history as it follows Hasina’s ouster and is being held under an interim government with voters also deciding on proposed political reforms.
The interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus has pledged to hold a free and fair election, but questions were raised after his administration banned Hasina’s former ruling Awami League party. The Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party have historically dominated the country’s electorate.
There are also concerns about the country’s law and order situation, but the government says they will keep the voting peaceful.
Yunus assumed office three days after Hasina left the country for India on Aug. 5, 2024, following the deaths of hundreds of protesters and others in a violent crackdown.
With the Awami League excluded from the election, a 10-party alliance led by Jamaat-e-Islami, an Islamist party, is seeking to expand its influence. Jamaat-e-Islami has long faced criticism from secular groups who say its positions challenge Bangladesh’s secular foundations. A new party formed by student leaders of the uprising, the National Citizen Party, or NCP, is also part of the alliance.
Tarique Rahman, BNP chairman and the son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, is widely seen as a leading contender for prime minister. His party has drawn strong support rooted in the political legacy of his mother, who died last month. Rahman returned to Bangladesh last month after 17 years in exile in the United Kingdom.
Rahman launched his campaign in the northeastern city of Sylhet with an address to thousands of supporters at a rally Thursday. He is scheduled to visit several other districts in the coming days.
In Sylhet, Rahman criticized the Jamaat-e-Islami party for using religious sentiment to get votes. He said that if elected, he would uphold national sovereignty and work for women and young people.
“Now we must establish the right to vote, rebuild the nation, and make it economically self-reliant,” he said.
Jamaat-e-Islami and the NCP began their campaigns in the capital, Dhaka.
“There are terrorism (crimes), extortion, corruption and forcible possession, (our fight) is against them to establish a just Bangladesh, and alongside to build a safe Dhaka for women and children,” said Nasiruddin Patwari, a leader of the National Citizen Party.
The election will also include a referendum on a national charter, with the interim government seeking voter support for what it describes as a new political course built on reforms. The charter was signed last year by 25 of the country’s 52 registered political parties. The Awami League opposed the idea and several other parties declined to sign the document.
Rahman’s return has reenergized his supporters.
“Under his leadership, in the coming time we want to see a self-reliant Bangladesh and organizing this country through a democratic process,” said Ali Akbar Rajan, a BNP supporter, at Rahman’s rally in Sylhet. “He will emerge as a successful statesman, that is what we hope for,“
The July National Charter, named after the uprising that began in July 2024 and led to the fall of Hasina, is currently nonbinding. Supporters of the charter say a referendum is needed to make it legally binding and a part of the constitution. Only Parliament can change the constitution in Bangladesh.
The interim government says the charter would bring more checks and balances to avoid authoritarian administrations, including by giving the presidency more authority to balance what had been a powerful prime minister position. It also proposes term limits for legislators, and measures to prevent conflicts of interest, money laundering and corruption.
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