Iran has summoned Germany’s ambassador in a tit-for-tat diplomatic move after a Hamburg court convicted two men of plotting to kill leaders of Jewish organisations allegedly at Tehran’s direction.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry accused Berlin of making “baseless political allegations” and said the case had been given an unjustified judicial appearance.
The decision to summon Axel Dittmann followed Germany’s call-in of Iran’s ambassador, Majid Nili Ahmadabadi, over allegations that Tehran was behind the planned attacks.
Hamburg court conviction
The case involved a Danish national, partially identified as Ali Hassan S, and an Afghan national who was recruited as his accomplice. Both were convicted in Hamburg after being accused of targeting Josef Schuster, president of Germany’s main Jewish community organisation, and Volker Beck, head of the German-Israeli society.
Ali Hassan S was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison, while his accomplice received a four-and-a-half-year sentence.
The court said Iran’s intelligence service had directed the pair, who were arrested in Denmark last year and later extradited. The judge described their conduct as “terrorist activities orchestrated by Iran”.
Germany’s Foreign Ministry said Iran would not be allowed to “threaten our free society”. It added: “The malicious assassination attempts against Josef Schuster and Volker Beck will have legal consequences.”
“We do not tolerate attacks on Jewish life and on those who defend it anywhere, and certainly not in Germany,” the ministry said.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said: “Levelling security-related accusations against Iran has long been a tactic employed by the Zionist regime and certain Western nations.”
It added: “Attempting to provide a judicial face to baseless political claims not only fails to lend any credibility to such allegations but also undermines the standing of the German judiciary itself.”
When the men were charged, Iran’s embassy in Berlin rejected what it called “unfounded allegations made at the behest of Iran’s enemies”.
