Greek national charged in London with spying on an Iran International journalist for Tehran
Ioannis Aidinidis, a 46-year-old Greek national living in Munich, appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on May 29 charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service -- believed to be Iran's -- by carrying out surveillance of a UK-based journalist for the London broadcaster Iran International. Police said he travelled to Britain twice, in April and May, photographing the journalist's home and cars and allegedly planting a covert camera concealed in a sock in a tree to transmit data to unknown recipients. He was arrested on May 16 and charged under section 3(2) of the National Security Act 2023, the latest UK case tied to alleged Iranian targeting on British soil.
A Greek national appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Friday, May 29, charged with spying on a journalist in Britain on behalf of an intelligence service believed to be Iran's. The Metropolitan Police said Ioannis Aidinidis, 46, who was born in Georgia and lives in Munich, was charged with "assisting a foreign intelligence service, contrary to section 3(2) of the National Security Act 2023," over surveillance of a UK-based journalist working for Iran International, the London-based Persian-language broadcaster.
Prosecutors said Aidinidis travelled to Britain twice, in April and again in May, to watch the journalist, photographing cars, houses and other addresses linked to the target. On the second trip, he is alleged to have installed a covert camera hidden in a sock in a tree, rigged to send data to unknown recipients. He was arrested on May 16, was not asked to enter a plea, and was remanded in custody ahead of a further hearing set for June 19.
The case adds to a run of UK prosecutions over alleged Iranian intelligence activity on British soil: four men were arrested in March accused of assisting Iranian spies, and three Iranian nationals charged last year are due to stand trial. It comes as Britain navigates the wider US-Israeli war on Iran, and points to the pressure on Iran International, an outlet Tehran has repeatedly accused of hostile coverage.