Iran has sentenced former Deputy Defense Minister Alireza Akbari to death on charges of spying for Britain’s secret services, state media reported on Wednesday. He has Iranian and British citizenship and has been imprisoned since 2019. Akbari denies the allegations.
The UK has said the death sentence is politically motivated and has called for his immediate release.
Tehran, for its part, does not recognize Akbari as a British citizen and criticizes what it considers interference by Western powers in internal affairs – especially after the wave of anti-regime protests that spread in the country last year. The demonstrations began after the death in September of a young Kurdish girl in police custody. Mahsa Amini was detained for allegedly incorrectly wearing the hijab; hundreds of demonstrators who participated in the acts were detained by the Iranian authorities and, some of them, also sentenced to death.
The regime led by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has increased repression of foreigners in recent months, when a wave of protests broke out in the country. The regime claims that the acts are encouraged by international agents and that the harsh repression against them is aimed at preserving national sovereignty.
Last Tuesday (10), the Justice of Iran sentenced Olivier Vandecasteele, a 41-year-old Belgian citizen, to 40 years in prison and 74 lashes for espionage and other crimes. According to the BBC, he worked in the country for six years providing services to the Norwegian Refugee Council and other humanitarian organizations.
Akbari’s family told the BBC that Iran was already preparing his execution. His wife, Maryam, says she was called in for a final meeting and he was transferred to solitary confinement. The British network also released an audio message from the former deputy minister in which he says he was tortured and forced to admit, in recorded testimony, crimes he did not commit.
“I was accused of obtaining secret information from the head of Iran’s National Security Council in exchange for a bottle of perfume and a shirt during the Rouhani administration. [ex-presidente do Irã]” says Akbari in the audio.
He was No. 2 in the Defense portfolio when Ali Shamkhani, the current secretary of the National Security Council, headed the ministry between 1997 and 2005. They became close in the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. “He was one of the agents most important intelligence services in Iran, and had access to sensitive centers in the country,” said the Iranian Interior Ministry. “Akbari knowingly provided information to the enemy’s spy service.”
James Cleverly, the British Foreign Secretary, called for Akbari’s release. “Iran must stop the execution of British-Iranian citizen Alireza Akbari and release him immediately,” he wrote in a Twitter post. “This is a politically motivated act by a barbaric regime that has utter disregard for human life.”
His death sentence was upheld by Iran’s Supreme Court, reported Nournews, an Iranian news agency affiliated with the country’s main security agency.
In a statement, the British Foreign Office said it was supporting the family. “Our priority is to secure their immediate release,” said a spokesman for the UK Foreign Office.
With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
