Man Filmed HQ of London-Based TV Channel Critical of Iran, Prosecutors Say

An Iranian flag flies in front of the UN office building, housing IAEA headquarters, Vienna, Austria, May 24, 2021. (Reuters)
An Iranian flag flies in front of the UN office building, housing IAEA headquarters, Vienna, Austria, May 24, 2021. (Reuters)
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Man Filmed HQ of London-Based TV Channel Critical of Iran, Prosecutors Say

An Iranian flag flies in front of the UN office building, housing IAEA headquarters, Vienna, Austria, May 24, 2021. (Reuters)
An Iranian flag flies in front of the UN office building, housing IAEA headquarters, Vienna, Austria, May 24, 2021. (Reuters)

An Austrian man carried out "hostile reconnaissance" against a London-based television station critical of Iran's government to collect information which could have been used in an attack on the channel, prosecutors told a London court on Monday.

Just hours after flying in from Austria in February, Magomed-Husejn Dovtaev is said to have tried to record the security arrangements of the Persian-language Iran International channel's headquarters in west London, the court heard.

Dovtaev, 31, is charged with a single count of attempting to collect information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism. He has pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutor Nicholas de la Poer told London's Old Bailey on Monday that Iran International became a target for reprisals following its reporting on the death in custody of Mahsa Amini in Iran last year and subsequent protests in the country.

Iran's minister of intelligence later declared Iran International a terrorist organization, de la Poer said, which meant its employees "became targets for violent reprisals".

"The prosecution does not suggest that (Dovtaev's) purpose on Feb. 11 was to carry out such an attack or that it was intended that he would participate in an attack on a further date," de la Poer said.

But de la Poer added, Dovtaev went to Iran International's headquarters, "no doubt acting on the instructions of others", in order to gather information about its security arrangements.

He told the jury this information would be useful to anyone planning a terrorist attack against Iran International.

Dovtaev's visit "demonstrates that planning by others was already under way", de la Poer said, saying that videos pre-dating Feb. 11 of Iran International's headquarters and security protection had been saved to his phone.

The trial, which is expected to conclude next week, continues.



Bomb Targeting Bus Carrying Security Forces Kills 5 and Wounds 10 in Restive Southwestern Pakistan

An armed Pakistani security official stands guard during an inspection of the scene where a train was hijacked by suspected militants, in Sibi, Pakistan, 15 March 2025. EPA/STRINGER
An armed Pakistani security official stands guard during an inspection of the scene where a train was hijacked by suspected militants, in Sibi, Pakistan, 15 March 2025. EPA/STRINGER
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Bomb Targeting Bus Carrying Security Forces Kills 5 and Wounds 10 in Restive Southwestern Pakistan

An armed Pakistani security official stands guard during an inspection of the scene where a train was hijacked by suspected militants, in Sibi, Pakistan, 15 March 2025. EPA/STRINGER
An armed Pakistani security official stands guard during an inspection of the scene where a train was hijacked by suspected militants, in Sibi, Pakistan, 15 March 2025. EPA/STRINGER

A roadside bomb exploded near a bus carrying security forces in restive southwestern Pakistan on Sunday, killing at least five officers and wounding 10 others, police said.
The attack occurred in Naushki, a district in Balochistan, said Zafar Zamanani, a local police chief. He said the blast also badly damaged another nearby bus. The dead and wounded were transported to a nearby hospital, The Associated Press said.
Sarfraz Bugti, the chief minister of Balochistan, condemned the attack.
No one immediately claimed responsibility, but suspicion is likely to fall on the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army, which days ago ambushed a train, took about 400 people on board hostage and killed 26 hostages before security forces launched an operation and killed all the 33 attackers.
Oil- and mineral-rich Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest and least populated province. Ethnic Baloch residents have long accused the central government of discrimination — a charge Islamabad denies. Baloch Liberation Army has been demanding independence from the central government.