German businessman sentenced for selling sensitive material to Iran

Source: Xinhua | 05-12-2009 09:11

BERLIN, May 11 (Xinhua) -- A German businessman was sentenced to six years in prison on Monday by a court in western German city of Koblez after admitting he sold Iran 16 tons of high-grade graphite, which prosecutors considered as being apparently used to make rocket nozzles.

The man, 63, was accused of illicitly shipping graphite to Iran via Turkey between 2005 and 2007. The trade stopped when Turkish customs officers halted two road shipments with another 10 tons of graphite.

Judges said his activities "could have done major damage to Germany's international relationships."

The accused was also fined 705,000 euros (around 960,000 U.S. dollars), equivalent to his earnings from the illicit deal. The man has been in custody since last June and this was credited to his jail term.

According to German news agency DPA, the prosecution and defense said they would not appeal.

The accused is chief executive of a firm that specialized in trading graphite, but his name has been withheld under privacy guidelines applied to the local media.

Editor:Zheng Limin