A Danish appeals court has upheld guilty verdicts under charges of promotion of terror and espionage against three members of the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz (ASMLA) terrorist group. 

Three terrorists were arrested in the town of Ringsted, roughly 40 miles away from Denmark's capital Copenhagen. They were found guilty of partaking in terroristic operations, including the fatal attack on Iran’s southwestern city of Ahwaz that killed 25 people.

The court found that the ASMLA terrorists had been spying for Saudi intelligence by gathering information on several individuals inside and out of Denmark, including Iranian military personnel and affairs. 

The men face up to 12-year sentences with charges that would be revealed throughout the year. They had been previously convicted by the District Court in Roskilde in February 2022, but the verdicts have just been upheld. Charges include financing or attempting to finance terrorism through Saudi funds. They obtained 2.2 million dollars first, then attempted to obtain another equally valued fund. 

Read more: Terrorist attack in Kerman, Iran martyrs toll surpassed 200

What is ASMLA? 

The ASMLA is a terrorist extremist group that has sought to separate Khuzestan, the southwestern province of Iran, from the country, through armed conflict against the Iranian government.

In September 2018, it claimed responsibility for an attack in Ahwaz, killing 25 and injuring 70.

ASMLA's leader, Farajollah Chaab, was arrested in November 2020 and executed on May 6, 2023, after being convicted of corruption and leading the rebel group. Chaab pleaded guilty in 2022 to orchestrating the 2018 attack and other terrorist acts against Iran.

Iran's judiciary court passed the execution “on charges of corruption on earth through the formation, management, and leadership of a rebel group called ASMLA and the design and execution of numerous terrorist operations in Khuzestan province.”

Previous terroristic anti-Iran acts

In 2021, four Iranian police personnel were injured in the Lorestan province that neighbors Khuzestan, after being shot by gunmen.

The officers were in their car at a gas station when they were ambushed by two gunmen on motorcycles.

Following the incident, the injured officers were taken to the hospital for treatment, and their health condition was reported to be stable.

The week before the incident, a policeman was killed and another was wounded by terrorists who infiltrated demonstrators protesting the water shortage crisis in Khuzestan Province.

Read more: One killed in Shiraz terror attack in Iran