14-year-old Austrian to spend 8 months in jail over terrorism chargesMay 26, 2015 - 15:07 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A 14-year-old Austrian teen with ties to Islamic extremists was convicted Tuesday, May 26, of planning to bomb a Vienna train station and sentenced to eight months behind bars, AFP reports. The schoolboy, named only as Mertkan G., was also found guilty of belonging to a "terrorist" organization and given an additional suspended jail sentence of 16 months by a court in his hometown of Sankt-Poelten. According to the charge sheet, the teenager, who emigrated from Turkey in 2007, wanted to carry out the attack before travelling to join "holy war" in Syria alongside the Islamic State (IS) group. Police had said at the time of his arrest in October 2014 that the boy made "concrete enquiries about buying ingredients" for a bomb and "planned to explode the devices in public places, such as the Vienna Westbahnhof," a major train station. His lawyer Rudolf Mayer had told AFP that his client -- who turns 15 in the coming days -- had only been "playing with the idea" of making a bomb. He has been in custody since January after breaking the terms of his parole. Unconfirmed press reports said that the IS had offered to pay him 25,000 euros ($27,250) if he managed to carry out the attack. In common with other European countries, Austria has seen a steady flow of people leaving or attempting to leave the country in order to join IS militants in Syria and Iraq. According to the Austrian interior ministry, more than 200 have done so, including some women and minors. Around 70 have since returned, several of whom are in custody awaiting trial. Related links: Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Erdogan wants “realistic road map” for relations with Armenia Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for a “new realistic road map” for relations with Armenia. Armenia-Azerbaijan: Experts launch work on determining coordinates Expert groups from the countries started the process of determining the coordinates based on geodetic measurements. Yerevan says did not expect CSTO in peacekeeping role Pashinyan has declared that the CSTO would be expected to come to the Armenia-Azerbaijan border as an ally of Armenia Henrikh Mkhitaryan wins Serie A title with Inter Inter Milan midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan admits that the team have long been imagining clinching Serie A against AC Milan. |