Terrorist group targeted at Jewish synagogue in downtown Athens eliminated

Greek Police and National Intelligence Service (ΕΥΠ) dismantled a terrorist network, led from abroad, which planned attacks on Jewish facilities in Greece.

According to the publication “cathimerini“, the National Police arrested two men of Pakistani origin, and a third, also a Pakistani living in Iran, who is being investigated for his links with radical organizations in the country, will be convicted in absentia. According to the same information, they organized an attack on a Jewish synagogue in the center Athens.

The tangle began to unravel after two events came into ΕΥΠ’s field of vision:

• First, the arrest of the Pakistanis In Cyprus in 2021 for an attack they were planning on a target linked to Israel.
• A year later (2022) more arrests of Pakistanis followed, this time in Turkey, while planning an attack on an Israeli-linked target. in the Stambul.

ΕΥΠ was informed of the above two events, and since then, in cooperation with the anti-terrorist service, members of the Pakistani community suspected of radical activities have been placed under surveillance. Searches were carried out throughout the country.

According to information “TO“, the two arrested were found in Zakynthos and Sparta approximately 45-50 days ago. In cooperation with the anti-terrorist service, they were brought and detained for administrative deportation, while the authorities confiscated their mobile phones, and digital evidence was found as a result of the check.

In particular, as a result of the removal of the secrecy stamp, their communications with a third person, a Pakistani citizen living in Iran, were discovered, who called on them to carry out an attack – explosive or armed – on a Jewish synagogue operating in the center of Athens in exchange for a reward. According to “K”, in one of the messages, the “organizer” asks two men to attack with firearms, to which they reply that they have no way to find weapons. In the next message, they are asked to carry out a terrorist attack using a gas cylinder.

The accused will confess on Friday.

On Friday, those arrested as members of a terrorist organization that planned targeted attacks in the country will appear before an investigating judge to testify. The prosecutor opened a criminal case against the two arrested on charges of creating a terrorist organization and joining it (according to the Criminal Code of Greece, it qualifies as a criminal offense). At the same time, criminal proceedings were instituted against an unknown person for leading a terrorist organization (felony) and provocation to participate in a terrorist organization (misdemeanor).

Statement EL.AS (Greek Police)

“After the coordinated actions of the Greek police and the National Intelligence Service (ΕΥΠ) eliminated a network of terrorists who, under foreign leadership, were plotting attacks on carefully selected targets in Greek territory.

Based on the information collected and processed by the National Intelligence Service, the employees of ΕΥΠ and the Anti-Terrorist Service (Δ.Α.Ε.Ε.Β.) carried out coordinated operations in various regions of Greece.

In the context of the coordinated actions of these services, two foreigners, members of the leadership of a terrorist organization operating abroad, were arrested as “masterminds” of the network. Their actions were aimed not only at the death of innocent citizens, but also at undermining the country’s sense of security, while affecting its institutions and threatening its international relations.

Analysis of the seized information and digital data showed and confirmed that the members of the network:

• have already selected a building with certain semantics as the target of the attack,
• conducted reconnaissance of the object and planning an attack,
• received final instructions to carry out the attack,
• following these instructions, they looked for other persons in order to carry out their mission in the best possible way.

A criminal case was formed against them, and on the morning of March 28, 2023, the arrested were taken to the prosecutor of Athens and handed over to the investigator. The investigation is ongoing.”

Planned attack in Cyprus

Press reports state that in mid-October 2021, Cypriot police arrested a Pakistani on suspicion of planning the execution of Israeli businessmen in Cyprus. The arrested person was allegedly in contact with a 38-year-old Azerbaijani who had already been arrested.

A 27-year-old Pakistani resident of Paphos was arrested during a surprise operation at his apartment, where three mobile phones were found and seized. He was accused of being an accomplice of an Azerbaijani who had been arrested in Nicosia a month earlier, and a revolver was found on him.

The same reports say Israel said Iran was attempting to carry out a “terrorist act” against Israeli businessmen in Cyprus following reports of an attempted assassination of Israeli Cypriot billionaire Teddy Shaggi.

The Iranian embassy in Nicosia told Reuters that Israel “always makes unfounded accusations against the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

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