Hamburg court sentences two men to prison for preparing attacks on behalf of Iran

Verdicts and the defendants' roles

A court in Hamburg on Thursday handed down verdicts to two men accused of preparing attacks on leaders of Jewish and German-Israeli organizations in Germany on behalf of Iranian intelligence. Both were found guilty of espionage and attempted murder. One received four and a half years in prison, while the other was sentenced to eight and a half years as the organizer of the planned attacks, Deutsche Welle reports.

Who was behind the plan and who was targeted

According to the prosecution, the 54-year-old Danish national of Afghan origin received instructions directly from the Quds Force, the external arm of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He is said to have recruited a 43-year-old Afghan living in Denmark to carry out one of the attacks or find a perpetrator, as well as to obtain weapons. In addition to the two well-known figures, the 54-year-old, according to available information, was also preparing an arson attack on a kosher snack bar in Berlin. Among the planned targets, the court named the president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, and the Green politician Volker Beck, who heads the German-Israeli Society.

Reaction and diplomatic backdrop

After the charges became public, Beck called on Berlin to expel Iran's ambassador and consular staff. 'Jewish life and commitment to the Jewish and democratic state are being threatened with murder and attacked again and again by the regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran on German soil,' DW quoted him as saying. Following the arrests, the German Foreign Ministry summoned the Iranian ambassador; the Iranian embassy in Berlin responded by issuing a statement rejecting what it called 'unfounded accusations dictated by Iran's enemies.' The defendants were detained by Danish authorities in Aarhus last year and extradited to Germany.