Iran executes purported British-Iranian spy by hanging
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iran carried out the death sentence of Iranian-British dual national Alireza Akbari on charges of spying for the United Kingdom’s intelligence agency and threatening the Islamic republic’s internal and external security, the judiciary’s Mizan Online website reported Saturday.
Akbari, an ex-deputy defense minister, was hanged for “corruption on Earth and for harming the country’s internal and external security by passing on intelligence” to the UK, Mizan said without specifying the date of his execution.
Mizan condemned Akbari for allegedly being a member of the UK’s M16 intelligence agency and for purportedly having a hand in the killing of top Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh almost three years ago, repeating the same accusations previously issued against him.
Akbari’s execution came after he was found guilty of the charges brought against him for spying for the UK and the rejection of his appeal on Wednesday.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was “appalled” by the act after news of Akbari’s execution broke out.
I am appalled by the execution of British-Iranian citizen Alireza Akbari in Iran.
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) January 14, 2023
This was a callous and cowardly act, carried out by a barbaric regime with no respect for the human rights of their own people. My thoughts are with Alireza’s friends and family.
There are a number of dual and foreign nationals being held in Iranian prisons on charges of spying for foreign governments with rights groups accusing Tehran of using them as bargaining chips to gain concessions from world powers.
In its annual world report on global rights conditions published on Thursday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) slammed Iran for conducting unfair trials and obtaining confessions under duress, as well as for charges brought against dual nationals.
“Iranian courts, and particularly revolutionary courts, regularly fall far short of providing fair trials and use confessions likely obtained under torture as evidence in court,” the report read.
“The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) Intelligence Organization continued to arrest Iranian dual and foreign nationals on vague charges such as “cooperating with a hostile state,” it added.
Updated at 10:45 am with UK premier Sunak's comments