AFP report in Daily Times Mar 09, 2017
BERLIN: A Pakistani man accused of spying for Iran went on trial in Germany on Wednesday for allegedly searching out potential attack targets for the Revolutionary Guards.
The accused, named only as 31-year-old Haidar Syed M, remained silent – “out of fear”, according to his defence lawyer. He is accused of espionage “against Germany and another NATO member”, France, for the Quds Force, the foreign operations wing of the elite Revolutionary Guards. Prosecutors charged he had compiled dossiers on possible attack targets – a German lawmaker who is the former head of a German-Israeli organisation, and a French-Israeli professor of economics.
Investigators found detailed dossiers on the men and their daily routines, with hundreds of photos and video clips, thehttp://dailytimes.com.pk/pakistan/09-Mar-17/pakistani-accused-of-spying-for-iran-faces-german-court Berlin court was told.
They allegedly detailed the targets’ homes and work places, various access routes to them, as well as information on security guards, surveillance cameras and nearby police stations. A representative of Germany’s domestic intelligence service, which handles counterespionage, said it was alerted to Haidar by a “reliable” source. The service suspected the Quds Force was preparing for a possible future conflict with the United States and Israel, when it could hit targets in Europe in a form of “asymmetrical warfare”.
The Karachi-born Haider Syed came to Germany as a student in 2012 and most recently lived in the western city of Bremen. He had allegedly been in contact since 2011 with an Iranian named Mehmud who worked for the Quds Force, the court was told.
The Pakistani man had travelled to Iran at least twice, in October 2015 and February 2016, and received at least 2,052 euros ($2,166) for his intelligence activities.
He was arrested in July 2016 and faces up to three and a half years jail if found guilty. The court has set seven hearings in the trial which is scheduled to run till late March.http://nation.com.pk/national/09-Mar-2017/pakistani-accused-of-spying-for-iran-faces-german-court
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