Two men accused of planning a Passover attack on a Jewish center in central Athens appeared in court on Friday to answer to terrorism charges and were ordered to remain in pre-trial detention, authorities said, according to The Associated Press.
Greek officials announced the suspects” arrests earlier this week. They two are Iranian men of Pakistani origin.
Police say they were planning to attack the Chabad of Athens center and are trying to determine whether the suspects were planning attacks at other locations. Police have searched multiple sites in Athens as well as in southern Greece and on the western island of Zakynthos.
The two men appeared before a public prosecutor, who ordered their detention in prison pending trial.
A third man, who is not in Greece, is wanted for questioning and has been charged with terrorism-related offenses in absentia, according to AP.
A Greek lawyer representing the two suspects told reporters after the hearing that one of the men had agreed to take videos of the Jewish center using his cell phone but had decided not to go through with the attack.
Iran this week denied it was involved in the failed plot to attack Jewish targets in Athens.
“Iran strongly denies the rumors spread by Zionist sources and their baseless accusations against Iran. It is obvious that their fabricated scenarios are to divert the public’s attention from the domestic situation,” Iran”s Embassy in Athens wrote in a statement posted to Twitter.
This is not the first time Iran has allegedly employed Pakistani terrorists to attack Israeli targets in Europe. In November 2022, the country of Georgia announced that it had foiled an Iranian plot to assassinate Israeli-Georgian businessman Itsik Moshe.
The plot, which involved Pakistanis affiliated with Al-Qaeda, came to light after Georgian security forces noticed a member of the Pakistani agents acting suspiciously.
(Israel National News’ North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)
