A 20-year-old man received a seven-year prison sentence Tuesday from a court in Brno, Czech Republic, after being convicted of attempted terrorism and attempted murder.
The defendant was among two minors who attempted to firebomb a synagogue in the Czech Republic’s second-largest city during January 2024, using a homemade explosive device. The pair also attempted to kill an individual who survived the assault.
The now-20-year-old defendant received an additional two-year sentence for terrorism promotion, crimes committed after he reached adulthood.
His co-defendant remained below the legal age for prosecution and faced proceedings in a closed courtroom.
Both individuals belonged to a five-person group of teenagers arrested last year following alleged online radicalization by the Islamic State terrorist organization, Czech officials reported.
According to authorities, the five promoted hateful content targeting minorities, the LGBTQ+ community, and Jewish people across social media platforms. Law enforcement operations in both the Czech Republic and Austria resulted in the confiscation of various weapons, including knives, machetes, axes, and gas-powered firearms.
Officials indicated the teenagers participated in online recruitment networks for Islamic State fighters in Syria and demonstrated shared interests in violence and hatred directed at Jewish people, LGBTQ+ individuals, and other groups.
The case involved collaborative efforts between Czech authorities and their counterparts in Austria, Britain, and Slovakia, along with Europol, the European Union’s law enforcement agency.
