The trial of a man who is alleged to have spied on Jews and supporters of Israel on behalf of Iran with a view to carrying out murders and arson attacks, began in Hamburg on Friday.
According to the indictment, those targeted included the president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, and the president of the German-Israeli Society, Volker Beck.
The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office accuses the Danish defendant, who has Afghan roots, of acting as an intelligence agent.
Also charged is an Afghan alleged accomplice, who is said to have pledged his support for the possible preparation of attacks. Neither defendant initially wished to comment on the allegations.
Beck - a long-serving member of the Bundestag for the Greens - attended the hearing as a member of the public.
Following the reading of the charges, a report from the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution was introduced into the proceedings, stating that the 54-year-old main defendant had been under surveillance during a visit to Berlin last summer.
According to the report, he apparently scouted out the offices of the German-Israeli Society as well as a kosher food shop.
The defendant was also observed at the headquarters of the German Ethics Council, of which Josef Schuster is a member. At all these locations, he is alleged to have taken photographs of the buildings and their surroundings with his mobile phone.
He was arrested in Denmark and subsequently extradited to Germany.
His alleged accomplice, a 42-year-old Afghan born in Tehran, was also arrested in Denmark last November.
