Verdict expected against suspected Hezbollah members

Higher Regional Court - Verdict expected against suspected Hezbollah members

In the first trial against alleged members of the Lebanese Hezbollah in Germany, the verdict of the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court in Hamburg is expected on Friday (13.00 hours). The Federal Prosecutor's Office accuses the two defendants of membership in a foreign terrorist organization. They have requested a sentence of five and a half years in prison for a 50-year-old Lebanese man and three years in prison for a 56-year-old German-Lebanese man. The defense has pleaded for acquittal. For the Shia-Islamist Hisbollah ("Party of God"), a designation as a terrorist organization has been in effect in Germany since April 2020.

The two defendants were arrested on May 10 of the previous year in the Lower Saxony districts of Aurich and Cuxhaven. The 50-year-old, according to the Federal Prosecutor's Office, primarily supported Lebanese associations in northern Germany. He reportedly appeared regularly as a preacher, for example at the 2022-banned Al-Mustafa Community in Bremen. The 56-year-old is said to have been active as a foreign functionary and member of a military elite unit. Since 2009, according to the information available, he was active as a member and later chairman in the Al-Mustafa Community.

Press release on the arrest from 10.5.23 Federal Ministry of the InteriorPress release from the Senator for the Interior of Bremen on the ban of the Al-Mustafa CommunityPress release on the indictment

1. Following the arrest of two individuals in Lower Saxony, the Office of the Attorney General in Germany initiated processes against them for alleged membership in Hezbollah, a designated terrorism organization.
2. Despite the ban on the Al-Mustafa Community in Bremen due to terrorism-related activities, the 50-year-old defendant was identified as a regular preacher at the organization, according to the Federal Prosecutor's Office.
3. The Higher Regional Court in Hamburg, Germany, is set to deliver its verdict on Friday in the first trial of alleged Hezbollah members, with five and a half years proposed for one defendant and three years for another.
4. The crime of supporting a foreign terrorist organization has been a concern for German authorities since the designation of Hezbollah in 2020, leading to increased processes against its members in the country.
5. In another case, a 56-year-old individual was accused of acting as a foreign functionary and member of a military elite unit within Hezbollah, leading to a judicial proceeding in Germany.
6. The verdict on these proceedings serves as a significant milestone in Germany's ongoing efforts to combat crime and terrorism activities linked to Hezbollah, particularly in areas like Hamburg and Bremen.

Read also:

• Tough return to normality in snow and ice
• Steinmeier joined a moment of silence - a legal battle over an AfD protest.
• German national soccer team on their way to participate in the European Championship qualifying matches.
• The flooding has lessened, but the aftermath of mud remains.