NCRI – A German court on Monday convicted a 63-year-old businessman of violating export laws by setting up deals to sell Iranian regime16 tons of high-grade graphite that could have been used for its missile program.
He was sentenced to six years in prison. Further, courts ruled that he must give his €705,000 in sales profits to the state.
The state court in Koblenz found that between 2005 and early 2007 the German businessman from the Bonn area set up several deliveries of high-quality graphite to Iran via an unidentified Turkish company of which he was a partner. During transport, the materials were camouflaged under a blanket of low-grade graphite in mislabelled containers.
The planned recipient was "an Iranian citizen who is known worldwide as a buyer for Iran's missile program," a court statement said.
Court spokesman Tilman von Gumpert identified the suspect only as Hans-Josef H., in keeping with German privacy laws. He was arrested in June 2008. The court said that during his trial he confessed to the accusations against him, and that neither the defense nor prosecutors planned to appeal.
The U.N. has imposed sanctions aimed at forcing Iranian regime to suspend its uranium enrichment program.
