German prosecutors demand jail term for suspected Hezbollah members
German prosecutors have demanded prison sentences for two defendants in the first trial of suspected members of the Lebanese Hezbollah in Germany.
The press office of the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court announced on Wednesday that if convicted, a 50-year-old Lebanese man could face five and a half years in jail for membership in a foreign terrorist organisation.
The second defendant, a 56-year-old German-Lebanese citizen, the prosecution requested three years in prison.
The two suspects were detained in Lower Saxony on May 10, 2023.
The 56-year-old is said to have been a member of an elite military unit in Hezbollah.
From 2009, he was reportedly active as a member and later chairman of the al-Mustafa community, banned in Germany in 2022.
Hezbollah has been banned from operating in Germany since 2020 April’s ending.
The Shia Islamist organisation, which Germany classifies as a terrorist group, denies Israel’s right to exist.
The prosecution argues that in addition to attacks on military targets, the Iran-backed group also sees attacks on civilians as legitimate.
(dpa/NAN)
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