Austrian citizen charged in UK with 'terror plot' on Iranian TV

LONDON – An Austrian national appeared in London on Monday on charges of espionage for a group allegedly plotting to attack an Iranian television station in the British capital.

31-year-old Magomed-Huseyn Dautaev, originally from Chechnya, was detained by counter-terrorism officers in west London on February 11.

He was charged with possession of records containing information that could be useful to a person committing or preparing a terrorist act. At a preliminary hearing, he pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Prosecutor Nicolas de la Poyer told jurors that Dautaev boarded a plane from Vienna to London to collect “enemy intelligence” in a building occupied by the Persian-language Iran International channel.

Journalists of the TV channel reported on alleged violations of human rights in the country.

“The prosecution case is that he was carrying out enemy intelligence,” de la Poer said in his opening speech at the Old Bailey in central London.

“The very fact that the defendant went to collect this information shows that planning by others was already underway,” he added.

The Iranian government has designated Iran International as a terrorist organization following reports of protests sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.

She died last September after being arrested in Tehran for allegedly violating the Islamic Republic's strict dress code for women.

Amini's death sparked months of nationwide demonstrations under the slogan “Woman, Life, Freedom.”

“Prosecutors allege that as a result of the Iranian authorities' treatment of Iran International, the organization and its employees have been subjected to violent repression,” de la Poer said.

“As we shall see, there is other evidence to suggest that defendant's visit was the latest in a series of such visits by unknown persons.”