Teenager jailed for downloading bomb-building plans to PlayStation

A 14-year-old boy from Austria who downloaded bomb-making plans onto his PlayStation has been sentenced to a two-year jail term after pleading guilty to terrorism charges.

Wed, 27 May, 2015 - 01:00

Shadia Nasralla

As well as researching how to build a bomb, the boy made contact with militants supporting Islamic State in Syria.

Sixteen months of the sentence were suspended. The boy, a Turkish national, will serve what remains of the eight-month custodial term in a juvenile detention centre, according to a spokeswoman for the regional court in Sankt Poelten.

He had been briefly placed in investigative custody in October on suspicion of terrorism-related activity, before being conditionally released. He was detained for a second time in January.

He had faced up to five years in jail for supporting a terrorist organisation and planning an attack.

Those charges were based on data found on the boy’s PlayStation, including bomb-building plans downloaded from the internet.

In a separate case, a court in Vienna yesterday acquitted a 16-year-old girl accused of preparing to join a jihadi terrorist organisation.