The mobile phones and computers of the 27-year-old and the 29-year-old Pakistani who were arrested for planning the terrorist attack in the heart of Athens have come under the microscope of the competent officers of the EYP and ELAS. According to what was reported on Alpha’s main news bulletin, the target was not only the Jewish restaurant but four in total with the objective of causing many casualties.
The report states that they were aiming to carry out an explosive attack in the center of Athens, probably the Jewish museum in Syntagma, or even in Zakynthos during the holidays or during the tourist season. In other words, they had chosen crowded places since it seems from their conversations that they aimed for the maximum number of victims.
At the same time, they also refer to specific persons, a businessman in Zakynthos and others in other places, against whom they would make an assassination attempt. The other two planned murders would also take place on an island, however, the exact location has not yet been determined. The same information states that the volume of digital data is so large that it will take a long time to complete its examination.
The first evidence shows that since November 2022 there were preparatory talks for the terrorist attack, with the 30-year-old who is in Iran. The 27-year-old played a central role and took it upon himself to recruit further compatriots, which he succeeded in the case of the 29-year-old.
For the Greek authorities, the tangle began to unravel from February 2022 when an e-mail that had a sender with an address belonging to a Swiss company, which uses multiple encryption and is considered extremely secure, reached the authorities. The e-mail stated that a terrorist group of Pakistanis was preparing to strike with explosives and all in Athens. The plans were said to be on the cell phones of the members of the organization whose leader the 27-year-old was designated as.
From the talks, however, it became clear that the 30-year-old’s attempt to make bloodshed was clear, as it was clearly stated that “as the numbers of victims increase, so will the money”. Specifically, they were told that with 5-6 victims the money would reach 20 million rupees. “Christmas is approaching, if we do it in a place where people will gather we will have many victims. I could do it here on the island (Zakynthos), we can also do it in Athens, but it’s more difficult”, was one of the 27-year-old’s answers.
Both, however, deny the accusations attributed to them and insist that they had no intention of carrying out the plans for the terrorist attack. The 27-year-old claims that his 30-year-old compatriot threatened him with his life and the lives of his family members. “I worked as a waiter in a hotel in Zakynthos, 16 hours a day. Then I worked in the olive groves. I didn’t want to make the hit. I was afraid, as it was almost impossible,” he was quoted as saying in his apology.
What the “guide” in Iran was saying to the two Pakistanis – Pakistani Sayed Hakkar & the 4 murders
“I take responsibility for my participation that I went to the scene and took pictures, they took videos. I tried to recruit people. I saw that there was an impasse and tried to retreat. Everything I did I did because the man in Iran knew where my family lived and threatened to kill my relatives. That’s why I did everything,” one of the two men reportedly said before the investigator during his plea.
Based on the evidence in the case file, the two defendants were allegedly “recruited” with the promise of a hefty payment for every human loss, by a member of a branch of the “Islamic Revolutionary Guards”, the so-called Quds Force.
The EYP men included in the case file the charge against an unknown person for the offenses of directing a terrorist organization (felony) and inciting to participate in a terrorist organization (misdemeanor).
Now the competent authorities are gathering data on the connections of the two men, on the people they tried to recruit and on whether there is another group planning such an attack. The voluminous file also includes the messages of the two men with the head of the organization that were sent through the Viber and What’s Up applications.
The “guide” of the two arrested is called Syed Hakkar (probably one of the names he used), he is aged 29-33 and is in Iran, where he has taken refuge, as he is wanted for 4 murders and kidnappings in Pakistan. He is a cruel and notorious criminal, who belongs to a network connected to the “Kundz Force”, but at the same time he had developed a rich criminal activity, as a member of a ruthless faction.