Czech authorities detain 5 teens over online radicalization by IS and charge 2 with terror plot

National flag of the Czech Republic. (Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

PRAGUE — Czech authorities have detained five teenagers for being radicalized online by the militant Islamic State group and charged two of them with terror-related crimes over an attempt to set fire to a synagogue, officials said Wednesday.

Břetislav Brejcha, the director of the Czech counterterrorism, extremism and cybercrime department, said most of the suspects are under 18 years old. They were detained between February and June as a result of an international investigation that started last year.

The five were promoting hate content on social media against minorities, LGBTQ+ community and Jews, Brejcha said. During seven raids in the Czech Republic and Austria, police seized some weapons, such as knives, machetes, axes and gas pistols.

On Jan. 29, 2024, two of the five tried to set a synagogue in the second largest Czech city of Brno on fire, Brejcha said without offering details.

The following month, Czech media reported an arson attempt and said police were looking for witnesses. The reports said two suspects placed a firebomb in front of the synagogue but it did not explode and no damage was reported.

The charges against them include hate-related crimes, promotion and support of terrorism and a terror attack attempt.

The suspects were also involved in online groups recruiting fighters for IS militants in Syria, Brejcha said. The Czech authorities co-operated with their counterparts in Austria, Britain, Slovakia and with the European Union’s law enforcement agency Europol in this case, he added.

Michal Koudelka, the head of the Czech counterintelligence agency known as BIS, said the five shared a fascination with violence and hatred against Jews, LGBTQ+ people and others.

They were approached online by Islamic State members and became radicalized, Koudelka said.

“We consider online radicalization of the youth a very dangerous trend,” Koudelka said, adding that the suspects had not been in touch with the local Muslim community.