Two 18-year-olds charged with supporting terrorist organisation

Two 18-year-olds have been charged with multiple counts of supporting a terrorist organisation in Schaffhausen, SRF reported. They were arrested in 2024 over suspicions that they had helped plan attacks.

The Schaffhausen juvenile prosecutor’s office filed the charges, the Schaffhausen public prosecutor’s office said on Tuesday. The Swiss and Italian nationals allegedly supported the banned Islamic State organisation and helped plan bomb attacks in Switzerland.

The presumption of innocence applies. The suspects were 15 and 16 when they were arrested, so their case will be heard by a juvenile court. No trial date has been set.

Links to investigations in Germany

The two were arrested during Easter weekend in 2024 alongside an 18-year-old suspected accomplice from the canton of Thurgau. The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland is investigating the accomplice.

According to the federal prosecutor’s office, the Swiss investigation is connected to similar investigations in Germany. Four teenagers aged 15 and 16 were also arrested there over the Easter period on suspicion of terrorism and possible support for Islamic State.

The three suspects from North Rhine-Westphalia and the suspect from Baden-Württemberg allegedly discussed plans in a chat group to attack police stations, churches or synagogues. They allegedly agreed to commit a crime.