German Trial Reveals Details of Spy Case Authorities Link to Iran Prosecutors say operation targeted pro-Israel politician, Jewish newspaperBy Andrea Thomas
https://www.wsj.com/articles/german-trial-reveals-details-of-spy-case-authorities-link-to-iran-1491989454
BERLIN—In mid-2015, German prosecutors say, Iran set in motion a spying operation that targeted a prominent pro-Israeli politician and a Jewish newspaper in Berlin.
Details of the alleged plot—which authorities said appeared aimed at gathering information for “possible attacks” on them—emerged during a trial in Berlin’s highest court that ended late last month with the conviction of a 31-year-old Pakistani man, Syed Mustafa Haider, on espionage charges.
Prosecutors said Mr. Haider was guided by a person believed by German intelligence to be part of the Quds Force, an arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps. He spent months tracking Reinhold Robbe, a former lawmaker who was then chairman of the German-Israeli Society, they said.
Mr. Haider, who was sentenced to four years and three months in prison, denied the charges and has instructed his attorneys to appeal the verdict against him, his lawyers said. The lawyers declined to comment further.
The Iranian embassy in Berlin said in a statement that Tehran “officially and categorically denied any link with this issue.” The embassy blamed “enemies of diplomacy” for “using any possibility and means to advance their bellicose goals.”
No attacks have taken place against the objects of Mr. Haider’s surveillance.
The revelations come at an awkward time for German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Ms. Merkel, under pressure from German companies that want to do business in Iran, has been resisting U.S. President Donald Trump’s tougher stance toward Tehran.
The government said it would wait until Mr. Haider’s appeal has been heard before commenting.
Based on evidence gathered by Germany’s police and the country’s domestic intelligence agency, prosecutors said Mr. Haider gathered 600 photos, 32 videos and other information detailing Mr. Robbe’s movements between July and October of 2015.
In addition to his work on Mr. Robbe, he was asked to compile dossiers on the Berlin headquarters of Mr. Robbe’s Social Democratic Party, the Jüdische Allgemeine newspaper and a Jewish professor in Paris, Daniel Rouach, they said.
Prosecutors alleged the material was “meant to enable his intelligence employer to establish a direct way to the person under observation as they prepared an attack.”
They noted that the spying focused on what “safety precautions” were in place to protect the targets under surveillance and how to “navigate” in locations they were likely to visit.
The court didn’t publish a written verdict. A spokeswoman said it found prosecutors’ case “fundamentally convincing.”
Mr. Haider, a student studying engineering in Germany, received instructions from his alleged Quds Force handler, identified only by the initial M., via WhatsApp in mid-2015, prosecutors said. CONTINUE AT SITE
Comments are closed.
