The testimony came Monday during the second hearing in the trial of two men accused of cooperating with the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The case is being heard in room 237 of Hamburg’s Higher Regional Court and is expected to continue through October.
Ali S., a 54-year-old Afghan-born Danish national, is the main defendant. Tawab M., a 42-year-old Afghan national, is the second defendant. Both are represented by lawyers of Iranian origin.
German prosecutors charged Ali S. in May with espionage, espionage for sabotage purposes, and attempted participation in murder and arson. Tawab M. was charged with attempted participation in murder.
In the courtroom, reporters and members of the public are separated from the judges, defendants and lawyers by a clear acrylic wall. The three-member court panel, made up of two judges and a clerk, is all female.
Volker Beck, head of the German-Israeli Society and one of the alleged targets in the case, sat in the public section, listening closely and taking notes.
Paid arson plan
A senior official from Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office, or BKA, told the court that Ali S. had been instructed to set fire to a Jewish kosher grocery store.
According to the testimony, the attack was supposed to be carried out by someone with two qualities: financial need and hatred toward Jews or Israel.
Investigators said Ali S. asked his daughter whether she knew a Palestinian or Somali woman who needed money and would be willing to carry out the arson attack for 30,000 Danish kroner, roughly €4,000.
The BKA witness said the alleged arson plan formed part of a broader operation that included surveillance of Jewish targets and discussions about obtaining a weapon.
The court is expected to examine the weapons issue in future hearings. Investigators believe it could point to possible plans for killings as well as arson.
Iran trips and surveillance
The BKA witness, a senior female investigator who described the case without reading from notes, gave detailed testimony on how investigators traced the alleged operation through phone data, travel records, surveillance images and Telegram contacts.
According to the testimony, Ali S.’s mobile phones had been monitored for a long period, and German security officers followed him during several trips.
Investigators said he traveled repeatedly to Iran over the past year and met senior Islamic Republic officials and people linked to the Quds Force.
In one trip last January, he traveled from Berlin to Turkey and then to Iran, where he allegedly met his handlers. The BKA witness said Ali S. had also met the Quds Force official responsible for Israel-related affairs.
Much of the evidence presented in court came from Ali S.’s iPhones. Investigators said he searched for Jewish-owned kosher shops before traveling to Berlin.
Surveillance officers later watched him standing outside one of the shops and filming the site with his phone.
“On the surface, it looked as if Ali was making a phone call, but we knew he was actually filming the location,” the BKA witness told the court.
Investigators also said Ali S. searched for the address of Josef Schuster, head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, after returning from Iran.
Images and screenshots from Ali S.’s phone were shown on a large courtroom screen, including saved photos of Beck. The BKA witness said the material strengthened the suspicion that an attack on Beck had been planned.
The court was also shown high-quality surveillance images of meetings between Ali S. and Tawab M. at a McDonald’s restaurant. Investigators said the two often met there without realizing how closely they were being watched.
The BKA witness identified several alleged contacts used by Ali S., including figures referred to as Haji Ali, Kazem and Vahid. Profile images linked to some contacts, shown in court, carried antisemitic and anti-Israeli symbols.
Telegram was one of the tools allegedly used for communication between the suspects and their suspected IRGC-linked handlers.
Investigators portrayed Tawab M. as someone Ali S. allegedly brought in because he could be trusted and had anti-Jewish and anti-Israeli motivation.
Neither defendant appeared visibly worried in court. Both sat without handcuffs and were able to consult freely with their lawyers.
For Beck, the hearing marked the second time he had seen the faces of men accused of helping plan his possible murder.
He said he was satisfied that the alleged would-be attackers had been arrested, but added that he was not at peace.
German security agencies have warned in recent months of a growing threat from the Islamic Republic in Europe. Germany’s domestic intelligence agency has said Tehran may expand intelligence and terrorist operations in Europe after recent regional developments, a warning security officials view this case as helping illustrate.
