Pakistan youth allegedly spying for Iran arrested in Germany

BERLIN - German police have arrested a Pakistani man accused of spying for Iran on the former head of a group that promotes German-Israeli relations.

Federal prosecutors said on Thursday that the 31-year-old, identified only as Syed Mustufa H., was arrested on Tuesday for violating German privacy rules in the northern city of Bremen.

They said in a statement that he was “in contact with an intelligence unit attributed to Iran,” without elaborating. He is alleged to have spied on the former head of a German-Israeli society and handed over information to Iran through intermediaries in October.

The ex-head of the German-Israeli group, former lawmaker Reinhold Robbe, told the Bild newspaper that he was not surprised by the alleged espionage, adding that he would “not be intimidated.”