A court in Denmark on Friday found a 40-year-old Norwegian man of Iranian descent guilty of spying for Iran and accessory to attempts to commit murder on Danish soil.
The man, who was not identified by the court, “collected information about an exiled Iranian in Denmark” during the period Sept. 25-27, 2018.
The Roskilde city court, west of Copenhagen, said it was “proven” that the information was handed over to a person working for an unnamed Iranian intelligence service. It added that online chats between the defendant and the person working for the Iranian intelligence service “weighed in” as evidence.
Roskilde is about 40 kilometers west of Copenhagen.
The Associated Press quoted the court as saying that the man must have realized his activities for an Iranian intelligence agency are illegal under Danish law and punishable by up to six years in prison.
The court also said he must have known his activities helped the Iranian intelligence service prepare for an attempted murder, making him an accessory to attempted murder.
In a statement, the court said the defendant pleaded not guilty and had declined to speak during the trial, which was held behind closed doors.
