The key facts

  • A Hamburg court sentenced two men to 4.5 and 8.5 years in prison for espionage and attempted murder.
  • According to the prosecution, the 54-year-old Danish national of Afghan origin received instructions from the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
  • Among the alleged targets were Josef Schuster, head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, and Volker Beck, head of the German-Israeli Society.

Hamburg court verdict

On Thursday, October 15, a court in Hamburg sentenced two men accused of preparing attacks on Jewish figures in Germany on behalf of Iranian intelligence services to imprisonment. Both were found guilty of espionage and attempted murder. One received four and a half years, the other eight and a half years as the organizer of the planned attacks.

Role of the accused and ties to Iran

According to the prosecution, the 54-year-old Danish citizen of Afghan origin received instructions directly from the Quds Force — the foreign unit of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He is said to have recruited an accomplice — a 43-year-old Afghan living in Denmark — to carry out one of the attacks or to find a perpetrator. The accomplice was also tasked with finding weapons. In addition to the two known figures, the 54-year-old, according to reports, was preparing an arson attack on a kosher snack bar in Berlin.

Planned targets

The court established that among the targets was Josef Schuster, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany. Another alleged target of the attack was Green politician Volker Beck, president of the German-Israeli Society. After the charges were announced, Beck called on Berlin to expel Iran's ambassador and consular staff. 'Jewish life and commitment to the Jewish and democratic state are repeatedly threatened with murder and attacked by the regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran on German soil,' he said.

Arrests and reaction

The accused were arrested by Danish authorities in Aarhus last year and extradited to Germany. After the arrests, the German Foreign Ministry summoned the Iranian ambassador; the Iranian embassy in Berlin issued a statement rejecting what it called 'unfounded accusations made at the instigation of Iran's enemies.'