Pakistani jailed in Germany for spying for Iran

Mustufa Naqfi was sentenced to four years and three months in prison 'for working for a foreign intelligence'


Afp March 27, 2017
Alleged spy, Haider Syed Mustafa (R) at the start of his trial in Berlin on March 8, 2017. PHOTO COURTESY: AP

BERLIN: A Pakistani man was convicted in Germany Monday of spying for Iran to search out potential attack targets for the Revolutionary Guards.

The defendant, 31-year-old Mustufa Haidar Syed-Naqfi, was sentenced to four years and three months in prison "for working for a foreign intelligence service", a spokesperson for Berlin's superior court said.

The court found he spied "against Germany and another NATO member", France, for the Quds Force, the foreign operations wing of the elite Revolutionary Guards.

Syed-Naqfi compiled dossiers on possible attack targets -- a German lawmaker who is the former head of a German-Israeli organisation, and a French-Israeli economics professor.

Pakistani man accused of spying for Iran goes on trial in Germany

Investigators found detailed dossiers on the men and their daily routines, with hundreds of photos and video clips.

The court heard they detailed the targets' homes and work places, various access routes to them, as well as information on security guards, surveillance cameras and nearby police stations.

A representative of Germany's domestic intelligence service, which handles counterespionage, said it was alerted to the defendant by a "reliable" source.

The service suspected the Quds Force was preparing for a possible future conflict with the United States and Israel, when it could hit targets in Europe in a form of "asymmetrical warfare".

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The Karachi-born Syed-Naqfi came to Germany as a student in 2012 and most recently lived in the western city of Bremen.

The defendant travelled to Iran at least twice, in October 2015 and February 2016, and received at least 2,052 euros ($2,237) for his intelligence activities.

He was arrested in July 2016 but declined to testify during the trial -- "out of fear", according to his lawyer.

COMMENTS (3)

Ali | 7 years ago | Reply I mean why he will take pictures and videos of the city when everything is available on google maps? Each and every inch of Europe is available on google maps so why get into trouble for just 2500 $? Don't seem legit!
curious2 | 7 years ago | Reply @Bunny Rabbit:
why did he have to get into these things. he could have done some menial labour but lived honourably in his home country.
Your assuming he did it for the money. Hatred of USA/NATO/West is popular in Pakistan - perhaps that alone was sufficient motive for spying on behalf of the Revolutionary Guard?
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