Two men charged with allegedly spying on London Jewish community for Iran

Two men have been charged with spying for Iran over alleged surveillance of the Jewish community in London, police said.Nematollah Shahsavani, 40, a dual Iranian and British national, and Alireza Farasati, 22, an Iranian national, have both been charged with engaging in contact likely to assist a foreign intelligence service between 9 July and 15 August last year.The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said Iran was the country the charges related to.The Metropolitan Police said the men were arrested and detained on Friday 6 March as part of an investigation into alleged surveillance of locations and individuals linked to the Jewish community in the London area.Shahsavani, of North Finchley, north London, and Farasati, of Edgware, north-west London, are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on Thursday.Frank Ferguson, head of the CPS special crime and counter-terrorism division, said: “We have decided to prosecute two men for an offence under the National Security Act.”He added: “The charge relates to carrying out activities in the UK such as gathering information and undertaking reconnaissance of targets. The country to which the charge relates is Iran.“We have worked closely with the counter-terrorism command at the Metropolitan Police as they have carried out their investigation.“We remind all concerned that criminal proceedings against these defendants are active and that they have the right to a fair trial.“It is vital that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.”The Met’s deputy assistant commissioner, Vicki Evans, who is senior national coordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing, said: “These are extremely serious charges under the National Security Act, which have come about following what has been a very complex investigation.“We have liaised closely with colleagues in the CPS to reach this point.“We fully recognise that the public – and in particular the Jewish community – will be concerned but I hope this investigation reassures them that we will not hesitate to take action if we identify there may be a threat to their safety.”Police said two other men were arrested on 6 March as part of the investigation and have been released without charge.