Two men went on trial in Germany on Friday accused of planning attacks on prominent pro-Israel public figures and spying on Jews on behalf of Iranian secret services.

Danish national Ali S. is charged with espionage, attempted murder, attempted arson and sabotage, while his alleged Afghan accomplice, Tawab M., is accused of attempted murder.

Ali S. allegedly spied on the head of the German-Israeli Society, the former Greens MP Volker Beck, as part of plans to assassinate him, according to prosecutors.

He is also accused of spying on the president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, as well as two Jewish grocers in Berlin, as part of plans to carry out arson attacks.

Prosecutors say Ali S. in early 2025 took orders from the Quds Force, the foreign operations branch of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The two men were remanded in custody in Germany following their arrest last year in Denmark and subsequent extradition.

Volker Beck was in the public gallery at the opening of the trial, accompanied by police protection, Marayke Frantzen, a spokeswoman for the court in Hamburg, told AFP.

Both defendants........

© The Times of Israel