For the first time, two suspected members of the Lebanese Hezbollah have to stand trial in Germany. The trial against the men arrested in Lower Saxony begins on Friday morning at the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court in Hamburg. The Federal Prosecutor’s Office accuses the two defendants of membership in a foreign terrorist organization.
As Hezbollah officials, they are said to have been a link between the association and Lebanese communities in Germany, as a spokesman for the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court announced. The two men – a 49-year-old Lebanese and a 55-year-old German-Lebanese – were arrested on May 10 last year in the Aurich and Cuxhaven districts.
The 49-year-old is said to have joined Hezbollah in Lebanon over 30 years ago. According to the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, since 2016 he has looked after Lebanese clubs, especially in northern Germany. He appeared regularly as a preacher for several years, for example at the Al-Mustafa community in Bremen, which was banned in 2022. The 55-year-old is said to have been a member of Hezbollah since at least 2004. According to the information, from 2009 he was active as a member and later chairman of the Al-Mustafa community.
