Hamburg: Verdicts expected in Iran espionage trial
Two men are standing trial in Hamburg, accused of spying for Iran and preparing antisemitic attacks. The federal prosecutor is seeking custodial sentences.
Verdicts in Hamburg Iran espionage trial
After three months of proceedings before the Hamburg Higher Regional Court, the courtroom is expected to deliver verdicts against two defendants today. According to ndr.de, the federal prosecutor accuses the 54-year-old main defendant of having prepared arson and murder attacks in Germany as an agent of the Iranian mullahregime. The man is alleged to have travelled to Iran on several occasions and recruited the second defendant for the operations.
According to investigations reported by ndr.de, the targets of the planned attacks were to be kosher shops in Berlin. In addition, the alleged agents had two private individuals in their sights: Volker Beck, former Green Party member of the Bundestag and president of the German-Israeli Society, and Josef Schuster, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany.
Both men were arrested in the previous year following tips from Danish intelligence services. The federal prosecutor is seeking eight and a half years in prison for the 54-year-old and four and a half years for his alleged accomplice. Volker Beck had attempted to join the proceedings as a co-plaintiff, but the Higher Regional Court rejected this – there was no completed attempted attack, only preparatory acts, which were insufficient.
Source: Google News DE — Crime (de)