Federal Public Prosecutor's Office examines - Suspected Hezbollah members to stand trial
Two suspected members of the Lebanese Hezbollah arrested in Lower Saxony are to stand trial in Hamburg. They are suspected of having been members of a foreign terrorist organization, the federal prosecutor's office in Karlsruhe announced on Friday. On December 4, charges were brought before the State Security Senate at the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court. A court spokesman in Hamburg said that the Higher Regional Court still had to decide whether to admit the charges.
According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the terrorist organization Hezbollah is banned from operating in Germany. The Shiite-Islamist organization is directed against the idea of international understanding. It denies Israel's right to exist and propagates the fight against the Jewish state by terrorist means.
The two men - a 49-year-old Lebanese and a 55-year-old German-Lebanese - were arrested on May 10 this year in the districts of Aurich and Cuxhaven. The 49-year-old is said to have joined Hezbollah in Lebanon over 30 years ago. Since 2016, he had been in charge of Lebanese associations in coordination with leading cadres, particularly in northern Germany, the federal prosecutor's office added. For several years, he had regularly appeared as a preacher, for example at the Al-Mustafa community in Bremen, which was banned in 2022.
The 55-year-old is said to have been a member of Hezbollah since 2004. He had been active as a foreign functionary and member of an elite military unit. From 2009, he was reportedly active as a member and later chairman of the Al-Mustafa community. At the turn of the year 2015/2016, he had visited troops in the Syrian civil war in the uniform of his unit in order to strengthen their will to fight.
Press release on the indictment Press release on the arrest of 10.5.23 Federal Ministry of the Interior on Hezbollah
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- The federal prosecutor's office in Karlsruhe has been actively investigating the involvement of other suspected Hezbollah members in Germany, following the arrests in Lower Saxony.
- The German government, through the Federal Ministry of the Interior, has been actively working to combat terrorism and ensure that organizations like Hezbollah do not operate within its borders.
- The trial of the two suspects in Hamburg is expected to shed light on the extent of Hezbollah's activities in Germany and their connections with Shiite communities in Lower Saxony and other parts of the country.
- The arrests and upcoming trial have raised concerns in Lebanon, with some officials expressing concern about the impact of German processes on relations between the two countries.
- In response to the ongoing investigations and trials, Hezbollah has denied any involvement in terrorism in Germany, insisting that they are a political and social organization.
- The German authorities are closely monitoring any developments related to Hezbollah, particularly in cities like Hamburg and Berlin, where there are large Shiite communities and potential for recruitment or support for the organization.
Source: www.stern.de
