A Greek man was Friday charged of spying on a London-based Persian-language journalist for a foreign intelligence service, believed to be Iran, in the latest such case in Britain.
Ioannis Aidinidis, 46, who lives in Munich in Germany, appeared in a London court after being charged under the UK’s National Security Act following an investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP) London.
Prosecutors said he was paid to travel to the UK twice in April and May 2026 to spy on the journalist at Iran International, a Persian-language media outlet which has been the target of a spate of recent attacks allegedly sponsored by Iran.
Aidinidis had been in custody since being arrested in West Sussex, southwest of London, on May 16, London’s Metropolitan Police force said on Friday.
“The country to which the allegations relate is believed to be Iran and the allegations relate to the targeting of a UK-based journalist working for Iran International,” the Met added.
Prosecutor Lee Ingham told the court that Aidinidis allegedly photographed and filmed addresses, as well as car registration plates linked to the journalist.
During his second visit, he allegedly “installed a covert camera hidden in a sock”, which was “able to send data to persons unknown abroad”.
The court was told that Iran International journalists have been “openly targeted” by the Iranian government.
Aidinidis was remanded in custody and is due to appear at the Old Bailey central criminal court on June 19.
Iran International last month said it was facing a “sustained effort to intimidate” it and “silence independent Persian-language journalism beyond Iran’s borders”.
In April, two young men and a teenage boy appeared in a London court charged with an attempted arson attack on its offices.
The private broadcaster, housed in a heavily secured building in west London, was labelled a “terrorist” organisation by Tehran in 2022 along with the BBC’s Persian-language channel.
In 2023, on the advice of British counter-terrorism police, it was forced to shut down and temporarily broadcast from Washington for seven months.
A year later, one of the channel’s reporters was stabbed near his London home, triggering an investigation by Scotland Yard.
After Aidinidis was charged, Helen Flanagan, head of CTP London, acknowledged it “may cause concern for many people here in the UK, and particularly those working in Persian-language media”.
Police said there was not believed to be any wider threat to the public.
Source:
www.euractiv.com