Soldier charged

Terror propaganda in Pongau barracks

One of the two defendants was a soldier and recorded one of the propaganda videos in the Krobatin barracks in St. Johann.(Bild: Gerhard Schiel)

Two men, both previously blameless Austrians, now have to answer to the Salzburg Regional Court. Both are accused, independently of each other, of involvement in the so-called "Islamic State" (IS), a terrorist organization. In short: both made propaganda via social media.

"I will die for IS": according to the indictment, a 21-year-old defendant made these statements to his mother and police officers. From 2022 to the end of 2023, he is said to have published several videos using aliases in which he glorified and glorified the terrorist organization - he also claimed allegiance to "IS". He created four different accounts on TikTok for the propaganda - the 21-year-old was also active on the internet platforms YouTube and Soundcloud. The regional court must decide on a sentence on Tuesday.

Second terror case
A second terror case will keep the lawyers busy on Friday: this is also about a propaganda video, this time published on the Snapchat platform. Of all people, a member of the Austrian army (19) presented himself in uniform as an "IS" member in the video. Accompanied by the words: "Join the jihad". It was recorded in the Krobatin barracks. Both defendants face up to ten years in prison.