Iranian diplomat Assadollah Assadi took his family on a holiday tour of German castles to cover his tracks during final planning for an attack on a major opposition rally – a plot that led to him being jailed on Thursday.
In the post of third secretary in Iran's Vienna embassy, Assadi was one of Iran's most senior intelligence officers in Europe. In the months before the plot was broken up, he went on a round trip of more than 1,500 kilometres with his wife and two sons. During this time he took the opportunity to hand over the bomb in Luxembourg City and carry out final briefings for his two sleeper agents.
Prosecutors in Antwerp, Belgium requested the maximum prison sentence of 20 years on charges of attempted terrorist murder and participation in the activities of a terrorist group. Assadi contested all the charges against him but was sentenced for the full term.
Three other defendants received jail sentences. Husband-and-wife team Amir Saadouni and Nasimeh Naami were sentenced to 15 and 18 years respectively. The fourth defendant, Mehrdad Arefani, was sentenced to 17 years in prison.
Assadi booked rooms in six hotels during the family trip from his base in Vienna, Austria, to Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg in June 2018.
But he failed to make the final destination after he was detained with his family by German police at a motorway service stop at Aschaffenburg.
By then, he would have known that his agents had failed to kill Maryam Rajavi, the leader of opposition group the National Council of Resistance of Iran, at a rally on the outskirts of Paris.
A green-covered notebook found in the back of Assadi’s car gave details of some of the tourist spots that the family may have visited during the trip.
They included references to Bismarck Tower in Bad Godesberg, the famous ruins of Heidelberg Palace near Mannheim and the magnificent hilltop Reichsburg Castle at Cochem.
It was not clear if they visited the sites as planned, but Assadi's wife claimed during questioning that the "family had visited many fortresses while travelling", according to a German police document seen by The National.
His son Hossein also “indicated that he and his family were planning to visit several castles during the holiday … and that they have done so”, the report said.
The journey took the family north-east and they stayed at Hotel Hieronimi, in Cochem, Germany, on June 27, booked for €100 ($119), before travelling the next day across the border to Luxembourg.
A police surveillance team monitored Assadi meeting Saadouni and Naami in Luxembourg's capital where he handed over the bomb to be used in the attack.
The family then travelled north from Luxembourg to an Ibis hotel in Liege, Belgium before heading back to Germany.
The attack was scheduled for June 30 but the bombers were stopped by a special police team in Brussels and the explosive was found wrapped in plastic in a toiletry bag, inside a suitcase.
Assadi sent a text message to the couple that evening asking if they were OK but got no reply, according to phone data records. He was heading back to Austria when he was arrested.
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
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Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
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About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
Results:
Women:
1. Rhiannan Iffland (AUS) 322.95 points
2. Lysanne Richard (CAN) 285.75
3. Ellie Smart (USA) 277.70
Men:
1. Gary Hunt (GBR) 431.55
2. Constantin Popovici (ROU) 424.65
3. Oleksiy Prygorov (UKR) 392.30
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
LAST 16
SEEDS
Liverpool, Manchester City, Barcelona, Paris St-Germain, Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig, Valencia, Juventus
PLUS
Real Madrid, Tottenham, Atalanta, Atletico Madrid, Napoli, Borussia Dortmund, Lyon, Chelsea
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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Fuel economy, combined 13.5L / 100km
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Winners
Ballon d’Or (Men’s)
Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain / France)
Ballon d’Or Féminin (Women’s)
Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona / Spain)
Kopa Trophy (Best player under 21 – Men’s)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona / Spain)
Best Young Women’s Player
Vicky López (Barcelona / Spain)
Yashin Trophy (Best Goalkeeper – Men’s)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City / Italy)
Best Women’s Goalkeeper
Hannah Hampton (England / Aston Villa and Chelsea)
Men’s Coach of the Year
Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)
Women’s Coach of the Year
Sarina Wiegman (England)
