According to media reports, an Austrian has been arrested in London on suspicion of terrorism. The 30-year-old was charged with gathering information for terrorist purposes. The State Department confirmed the fact of the arrest Tuesday at the request of APA.
“We can confirm that the Austrian Embassy in London has been informed by the British authorities of the arrest of an Austrian national,” the Austrian foreign ministry said. For data protection reasons, no further information about the case could be published, it said.
Sender accuses the Austrian of espionage
As the British newspaper “Daily Mail” reported, the man was arrested on Saturday at Chiswick Business Park in west London. One of the office buildings on this site in the Gunnersbury district houses the studio of the TV channel “Iran International”, which is critical of the Iranian regime.
In a message about the arrest on its website, the broadcaster indicated that the Austrian may have spied on the outlet of the medium. “Iran International” was reportedly warned by British authorities in November that its journalists were being targeted by “Iranian agents”.
Up to 15 years in prison possible
According to the Daily Mail report, the arrested man is due to appear in court again at 2pm local time (3pm CET) on Tuesday. An initial hearing on Monday was postponed due to the lack of a law enforcement license and problems with the interpreter. According to Iran International, the man is accused of violating Article 58 of the 2000 anti-terrorism law.
This criminalizes anyone who “collects or records information that may be of use to a person committing or preparing to commit a terrorist act”. UK law punishes such offenses with terms of imprisonment of up to 15 years.
Source: Krone
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