Aargau man denies planning Islamic State attack at trial

A 19-year-old Swiss-Turkish dual national has denied planning an attack in the name of the so-called Islamic State, SRF reported on Monday. Prosecutors allege that the man from the canton of Aargau was caught in a process of radicalisation and discussed possible attacks with Islamic State supporters.

In one message, he wrote to another person: “Brother, let’s say driving into a crowd or stabbing people at random in the city.” The alleged target and location of the planned attack are not known.

The Federal Prosecutor’s Office arrested the man in June 2025, when he was 18, after receiving information from online forums that he might be planning an attack on behalf of Islamic State. He is charged with supporting a terrorist organisation, criminal preparations for murder, and producing, storing and possessing depictions of violence.

According to the indictment, he supported Islamic State by spreading propaganda and making financial contributions, including PayPal transfers worth several hundred US dollars. The prosecution’s requested sentence has not yet been announced. Supporting a terrorist organisation carries a fine or up to 10 years in prison, while criminal preparations for murder carry a sentence of up to five years.

The defendant told the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona that he had never intended to carry out an attack. He said he had been researching Islamic State to understand the group and, in particular, how it justified such acts. He repeatedly described himself as curious rather than malicious.

Before his arrest, he said, he had been a sympathiser of Islamic State but never a supporter or member. He said he had remained critical, while also viewing some aspects of the group positively, including the idea of a territory governed by “God’s rules” and its propaganda about helping Muslims in need.

Asked how he could have been interested in a group that beheaded people and killed non-believers, he said he had been “still learning” and could not say whether he supported such acts. He described his activities as a comparative examination of different Islamic movements, including visits to mosques and extensive research online.

He said he eventually became immersed in forums carrying Islamic State propaganda, followed Telegram groups and chatted with like-minded people. “Islamic State brainwashed me,” he told the court.

Defence lawyer Marcel Buttliger said the accusations were exaggerated and called for a full acquittal. He argued that the Federal Prosecutor’s Office was portraying his client as a terrorist and suggesting that an attack had been prevented, neither of which was true.

Buttliger described the defendant’s family circumstances as troubled. He said the father was addicted to alcohol and violent, and that the family separated as a result. The family had already come to the attention of the child and adult protection authority when the defendant was 12.

The lawyer described his client as a young man with little self-confidence and difficulty forming social contacts. After leaving school during his 10th year, he spent much of his time at home on a computer and was misled because of his lack of life experience, the lawyer said.

Buttliger also criticised the decision to bring the case before the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, arguing that the authorities had waited until shortly after the defendant turned 18. He said it would have been better for the youth prosecutor’s office to have handled the case while he was still a minor.

The defendant said he now viewed Islamic State differently and considered its attacks inhuman. Asked by the federal prosecutor whether he had believed at the time that killing non-believers was justified, he replied: “I was still researching and cannot remember.”

After spending time in pre-trial detention, the man was released in December. He is being monitored by the canton’s violence protection service.