Danes find Norwegian-Iranian person guilty of spying for Iran

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A court in Denmark on Friday observed a 40-12 months-previous Norwegian male of Iranian descent responsible of spying for Iran and accessory to makes an attempt to dedicate murder on Danish soil.

The man, who was not discovered by the court docket, “collected information about an exiled Iranian in Denmark” all through the time period Sept. 25-27, 2018.

The Roskilde city courtroom, west of Copenhagen, stated it was “proven” that the information was handed about to a particular person doing work for an unnamed Iranian intelligence services. It extra that online chats between the defendant and the man or woman doing the job for the Iranian intelligence provider “weighed in” as evidence.

Roskilde is about 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of Copenhagen.

The court docket said the gentleman ought to have recognized his pursuits for an Iranian intelligence agency are unlawful underneath Danish regulation and punishable by up to six decades in prison.

The court also reported he must have acknowledged his functions aided the Iranian intelligence support put together for an attempted murder, earning him an accent to attempted murder.

In a assertion, the court claimed the defendant pleaded not responsible and experienced declined to discuss for the duration of the trial, which was held guiding shut doorways.

The scenario is joined to a 2018 law enforcement operation focusing on an alleged Iranian plot to destroy a person or more opponents of the Iranian government. The procedure briefly slash off the island on which Copenhagen sits from the relaxation of Denmark.

As portion of the investigation, 3 men who are members of an Iranian separatist group, the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz, were being accused of spying in Denmark for an unnamed Saudi intelligence provider.

The 3 adult males of the London-primarily based group had been arrested in February in Ringsted, 60 kilometers (40 miles) southwest of Copenhagen, suspected of spying on people today and companies around a interval of six a long time beginning in 2012.

A person or all of them are thought to have been the concentrate on of the plot involving the Norwegian person of Iranian descent. His citizenship was not given.

Sentencing was anticipated later on Friday.