A Hezbollah flag raised above the rubble of a building destroyed by an Israeli strike in Beirut's southern suburbs, Nov. 8, 2024. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — German authorities arrested a Lebanese man on Tuesday, accusing him of belonging to Hezbollah and working for affiliated groups in Germany, according to U.S.-based news outlet Al-Monitor.
Federal prosecutors identified the man, arrested in Germany’s northwest Hanover region, as Fadel R., according to Al-Monitor. A statement from Germany’s Federal Public Prosecutor General described him as "strongly suspected of membership" in Hezbollah.
The statement alleges that Fadel R. joined Hezbollah by the summer of 2008 and participated in training courses for the group. The statement adds that from January 2009 onward, he is accused of having assumed "management responsibilities" in two Hezbollah-run associations in the Hanover region.
Germany also accuses him of maintaining contact with Hezbollah leadership and working as a foreign correspondent for a Hezbollah media outlet in 2017.
Hezbollah is classified as a "terrorist organization" in Germany, which banned the group from operating on its soil in 2020.
Earlier this year, Germany banned the Hamburg Islamic Centre, a Muslim religious association under investigation for allegedly supporting Hezbollah.
In July, Germany arrested another Lebanese man, Fadel Z., suspected of being a Hezbollah member and accused of procuring drone components for the group to use against Israel.