Russian-speaking man accused of ‘hostile reconnaissance’ for TV station terror attack told police he was sightseeing in London
A Russian-speaking man accused of conducting hostile reconnaissance for a terrorist attack on a dissident Iranian TV station in West London told police he was on a weekend sightseeing visit in the capital, a court has heard.
Magomed-Husejn Dovtaev, 31, arrived at Gatwick from Vienna on the morning of 11 February this year and caught a taxi straight to Chiswick Business Park, paying in cash, the Old Bailey was told.
His visit was said to be the most recent in a sequence of at least three such visits by “others unknown”, beginning in the summer of 2022, following threats from the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence.
CCTV showed Dovtaev – a Chechen-born Austrian national – as he walked nonchalantly around Building 11 in the business park where the Iran International television station was then housed on the first floor, apparently taking video footage on his mobile phone.
When his trip was spotted by security guards, he told them that he was planning to see his brother but wanted to see the “beautiful” area and have a coffee.
However, one of the security guards realised that he was speaking on his Apple Airpod earphones and insulting them in Russian, calling them “motherf******” and “b******”.
They directed him to a Starbucks on the estate and called in armed police who arrested him as he sat at a table in the coffee shop, shortly before 11am.
Read more:
Man ‘spied on Iran International to help terror plotters’
Chiswick Business Park
Accused was ‘calm’ when armed police confronted him
Nick de la Poer KC, prosecuting, said Dovtaev “remained noticeably calm” and his reaction “was not of a person who was alarmed or surprised about the fact that he was being detained under the Terrorism Act by a number of armed and unarmed police officers”.
After he was handcuffed, Dovtaev told police he was waiting for his friend “Usman” who he knew from Chechnya but had not seen for three years.
He told police officers that he was planning to go back to Austria the next day but had not booked his return ticket.
Later, at the police station, Dovtaev elaborated, telling police that he was a family man who worked in IT in Austria and was paying a weekend visit to “see a friend and tour central London.”
In a statement handed to officers, he said he had gone to Chiswick Business Park in order to meet the friend and had taken a 25-second video in order to show his children the lake at the business park.
‘Deliberate untruths’ were ‘to conceal hostile reconnaissance’
Mr de la Poer told the court: “The prosecution’s case is that this and everything the defendant told the security guards and the police officers at the scene were deliberate untruths.”
Dovtaev is now said to have come up with another version, saying that he went to the business park because he was investigating whether fraudsters, who had defrauded him and his father out of large amounts of money, were operating from Building 11.
“The prosecution’s response will be that it is another dishonest attempt by the defendant to explain his interest in Building 11,” Mr de la Poer added.
The prosecutor told the jury: “The prosecution’s case is that he was not there to meet a friend, to look at the scenery or to have a coffee.
“The prosecution’s case is that he was carrying out hostile reconnaissance on Building 11.
“That is to say, he had travelled to the UK for the purpose of recording the security arrangements at the Chiswick Business Park in order that any vulnerabilities could be identified and exploited.”
The jury was told that the TV station he was observing had attracted controversy in Iran after reporting on protests by women following the death in detention of Mahsa Amini last autumn.
Read more from Sky News:
Iran sends space capsule carrying animals into orbit
Children of jailed Iranian activist accept her Nobel Peace Prize
Pic: AP
Iran International journalists ‘wanted’ by Tehran
Iran International – a Persian language news broadcasting service – “regularly reports on the Iranian authorities in a way that it is highly critical, including in relation to alleged human rights violations,” Mr de la Poer told the court.
Following the channel’s reporting of the protests around Ms Amini’s death, in November 2022 Iran’s Minister of Intelligence declared the TV station to be a terrorist organisation.
Iran’s state media subsequently reported that those who worked for Iran International were “wanted” by the Ministry of Intelligence.
The Iran International TV station is critical of the country’s regime
Mr de la Poer added: “As a result of the Iranian authorities’ attitude towards Iran International, the organisation and its employees all became targets for violent reprisals.
“As such, the security at their place of work was of very real and practical interest to those who might wish to carry out such reprisals, whether that was to attack the building itself or the employees.”
The prosecution did not suggest that Dovtaev planned to carry out such an attack or even that he knew anything about what was planned by others.
However, Mr de la Poer told the jury: “The defendant, no doubt acting on the instructions of others, went to the Chiswick Business Park for the purpose of gathering information about the security arrangements around Iran International.
“The very fact that the defendant went to collect this information for those who wanted to know about the security arrangements around Iran International demonstrates that planning by others was already under way.”
Dovtaev denies a single charge of attempting to collect information useful for terrorism and the trial continues.
World
Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrives in Saudi Arabia ahead of US-Ukraine meeting – as Marco Rubio says Kyiv should be ‘prepared to do difficult things’
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived in Saudi Arabia ahead of his team having talks with America’s top diplomat on Tuesday.
Mr Zelenskyy will not be at the meeting with US secretary of state Marco Rubio, but Mr Zelenskyy’s team will try to improve relations following his disastrous 28 February visit to Washington, which descended into an Oval Office argument with President Donald Trump and vice president JD Vance.
Follow latest updates on Ukraine and Trump
Mr Zelenskyy with Prince Saud bin Mishaal, and Saudi commerce minister Majid bin Abdullah al Qasabi. Pic: AP
Mr Zelenskyy is due to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman later on Monday, after the end of the daily fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio is also in Jeddah. He is not due to meet Mr Zelenskyy – but he held talks with Prince Mohammed to discuss Yemen and threats to ships from Houthis, Syria, and the reconstruction of Gaza.
During talks on Tuesday the Ukrainian team will try to convince the US to restore military aid and intelligence that had helped Kyiv since Russia‘s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Speaking to reporters while travelling to Jeddah, Mr Rubio said if Ukraine and the US reach an understanding acceptable to Mr Trump, that could accelerate his administration’s push to peace talks.
“What we want to know is, are they interested [in] entering some sort of peace conversation and general outlines of the kinds of things they could consider, recognising that it has been a costly and bloody war for the Ukrainians,” Mr Rubio said.
“They have suffered greatly and their people have suffered greatly. And it’s hard in the aftermath of something like that to even talk about concessions, but that’s the only way this is going to end and prevent more suffering.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
‘We want Ukraine to be serious’ about peace
He said: “I’m not going to set any conditions on what they have to or need to do. I think we want to listen to see how far they’re willing to go and then compare that to what the Russians want and see how far apart we truly are.”
He added: “The most important thing that we have to leave here with is a strong sense that Ukraine is prepared to do difficult things, like the Russians are going to have to do difficult things to end this conflict.”
Meanwhile, British prime minister Sir Keir Starmer spoke to Mr Trump on Monday ahead of the US-Ukraine meeting.
Read more:
How Trump has upended millions of lives in his first 50 days
Trump says Ukraine ‘may not survive’ war against Russia
Rating the president’s second term so far
A Downing Street readout of the call said that Sir Keir told the president that “UK officials had been speaking to Ukraine officials over the weekend and they remain committed to a lasting peace”.
“The prime minister said he hoped there would be a positive outcome to the talks that would enable US aid and intelligence sharing to be restarted,” the statement said.
“The two leaders also spoke about the economic deal they had discussed at the White House and the prime minister welcomed the detailed conversations that had already happened to move this forward. Both leaders agreed to stay in touch.”
The European Union agreed last week to boost the continent’s defences and free up hundreds of billions of euros for security in response to the Trump administration’s shift in policy towards Ukraine.
A US intelligence official said a pause on sharing US intelligence that can be used for offensive purposes by Ukrainian forces remains in effect.
The official suggested that progress could be made towards reinstating intelligence sharing with Ukraine during the Saudi talks.
Syria’s interim government has signed a deal with the Kurdish-led authority that controls the country’s oil-rich northeast.
The agreement – which includes a ceasefire and the merging of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) there into the Syrian army – will bring most of the nation under the control of the government.
The government is currently led by Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al Sham, which helped to topple president Bashar al Assad in December.
Syria’s interim president Ahmad al Sharaa (R) shakes hands with Mazloum Abdi, the commander of Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. Pic: AP
Recent clashes have seen more than 1,000 people killed amid violence between government supporters and those thought to be loyal to the ousted leader.
On Monday, the deal was signed by interim president Ahmad al Sharaa and Mazloum Abdi, the commander of the US-backed SDF.
The deal – to be implemented by the end of the year – would bring all border crossings with Iraq and Turkey, airports and oil fields in the northeast under the central government’s control.
Prisons, where about 9,000 suspected members of the Islamic State group are being held, are also expected to come under government control.
Syria’s Kurds will gain their “constitutional rights” including using and teaching their language, which were banned for decades under Mr Assad.
Hundreds of thousands of Kurds who were displaced during Syria’s nearly 14-year civil war will return to their homes.
The deal will also allow all Syrians to be part of the political process, no matter their religion or ethnicity.
Clashes between government supporters and those loyal to Bashar al Assad have seen more than 1,000 people killed. Pic: AP
A coffin carrying the body of Nawaf Khalil Baytar, who was killed during the recent wave of violence. Pic: AP
Syria’s new rulers are struggling to exert their authority across the country and reach political settlements with other minority communities, notably the Druze in southern Syria.
Earlier in the day, the government announced the end of the military operation against insurgents loyal to Mr Assad and his family in the worst fighting since the end of the civil war.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Surge of violence in Syria explained
The defence ministry’s announcement came after a surprise attack by gunmen from the Alawite community on a police patrol near the port city of Latakia on Thursday spiralled into widespread clashes across Syria’s coastal region.
The Assad family are Alawites.
Pic: AP
Pic: AP
Read more from Sky News:
How Trump upended millions of lives in first 50 days in office
Zelenskyy in Saudi Arabia ahead of US-Ukraine meeting
Defence ministry spokesperson Colonel Abdel-Ghani said security forces will continue searching for sleeper cells and remnants of the insurgency of former government loyalists.
Though the government’s counter-offensive was able to mostly contain the insurgency, footage surfaced of what appeared to be retaliatory attacks targeting the broader minority Alawite community, an offshoot of Shia Islam whose adherents live mainly in the western coastal region.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitoring group, said 1,130 people were killed in the clashes, including 830 civilians.
The interim president said the retaliatory attacks against Alawite civilians and mistreatment of prisoners were isolated incidents, and vowed to crack down on the perpetrators as he formed a committee to investigate.
World
Former Bank of England governor Mark Carney named prime minister of Canada – succeeding Justin Trudeau
Former Bank of England governor Mark Carney has been named Canadian prime minister after winning the Liberal Party leadership in a landslide victory.
Mr Carney, who also used to head up Canada’s central bank, had emerged as the frontrunner as his country was hit with tariffs imposed by President Trump.
He ended up winning 85.9% of the vote.
During his victory speech, he told the crowd: “Donald Trump, as we know, has put unjustified tariffs on what we build, on what we sell and how we make a living.
“He’s attacking Canadian families, workers and businesses and we cannot let him succeed and we won’t.”
Mr Carney said Canada would keep retaliatory tariffs until “the Americans show us respect”.
Mr Trump’s tariffs against Canada and his talk of making the country America’s 51st state have infuriated Canadians.
The American national anthem has been repeatedly booed at NHL and NBA games.
“Think about it. If they succeeded, they would destroy our way of life… America is a melting pot. Canada is a mosaic,” Mr Carney added.
“America is not Canada. Canada will never ever be part of America in any way, shape or form.”
An easy pick for his party – but now he must win over Canada
Mark Carney had no problem convincing the Liberal Party he was the best man for the job. 85.9% of the vote speaks for itself. Now he must convince the country.
After unparalleled experience as central bank governor, both of Canada and of the UK, albeit at different times, he has the economic wherewithal to fortify the economy against the battering Donald Trump seems intent on dealing it.
He has made it very clear he is ready for the fight to come. “In trade, as in hockey, we will win!” he told his fellow liberals to wild applause. “We’re strongest when we are united,” he told the country on X.
His conservative rivals had what seemed like an unbeatable lead in the polls until just a few short weeks ago, but Trump’s trade tariffs have rallied Canadians behind the flag and their government.
That gives Mr Carney momentum ahead of a general election that will likely come sooner rather than later. Now he must exercise the political genius to capitalise on that.
The 59-year-old will replace Justin Trudeau, who has served as prime minister since 2015.
Mr Trudeau announced he was stepping down in January after facing calls to quit from a chorus of his own MPs.
The 53-year-old’s popularity had declined as food and house prices rose. He will stay in post until Mr Carney is sworn in.
Mr Carney will soon have to decide when to call a general election – a vote must take place on or before 20 October.
In 2013, he became the first non-UK citizen to run the Bank of England since it was founded in 1694.
His appointment came after Canada recovered from the 2008 financial crisis faster than many other countries.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
‘You can’t take our country or our game’
Read more:
Trudeau steps down with his popularity in shreds
Canadian PM criticises Trump over tariffs
During leadership debates, Mr Carney argued he was the only person prepared to handle Trump.
“I know how to manage crises,” he said.
“In a situation like this, you need experience in terms of crisis management, you need negotiating skills.”
The surge in Canadian nationalism has bolstered the Liberal Party’s chances in a parliamentary election.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports11 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway