A Dual British-Iranian National Alireza Akbari Executed In Iran: According to a state-affiliated media outlet, Iran hung a dual British-Iranian citizen on suspicions of espionage and corruption on Saturday. This was the most recent in a succession of executions carried out by a regime coping with unprecedented nationwide protests.
According to the Iranian judiciary-affiliated publication Mizan, the official from Iran, Alireza Akbari, was put to death for offenses like “corruption on earth.” Additionally, Akbari was charged with engaging in “extensive cooperation” with British intelligence agents in exchange for which he was paid “large quantities of money.”
The execution, according to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, “appalled me.” This was a callous and cowardly act, committed by a barbaric regime with no respect for the human rights of their own people, he continued on Twitter. Friends and family of Alireza are in my thoughts.
I am appalled by the execution of British-Iranian citizen Alireza Akbari in Iran.
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.
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) January 14, 2023
Mizan didn’t say how long ago the execution took place. Just a few days ago, on January 11, Akbari’s death sentence was officially revealed following his conviction for spying for the United Kingdom. Akbari refuted the allegations.
Akbari had allegedly been detained “some time ago,” according to allegations that were reported in Mizan on Wednesday. According to the BBC, Akbari was detained in 2019.
The accused was condemned to death for espionage for the UK based on the admissible evidence in his file, Mizan said. “On this basis and following the filing of an indictment against the accused, the file was sent to court, and hearings were held in the presence of the accused’s lawyer.”
According to the Iranian pro-reform publication Shargh Daily, Akbari formerly held the positions of deputy defense minister, head of the Strategic Research Institute, and member of the military group that carried out the United Nations resolution that ended the Iran-Iraq conflict.
According to the BBC, he worked for Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, a reformer who presided over the country from 1997 to 2005.
The execution of a person with dual citizenship, despite the fact that Iran does not recognize it, is expected to increase tensions between Tehran and Western democracies, who have criticized the regime’s response to anti-government protests that started in September of last year.
Akbari is one of three people who will be given the death penalty in the first few weeks of 2023. Iran has a lengthy history of being one of the world’s top executioners. Last Saturday, two young men—one a karate champion and the other a volunteer children’s coach—were hung for the murder of a Basij paramilitary force member.
Both were said to have participated in the demonstrations that broke out after Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman, passed away while being held by the nation’s morality police.
Massive statewide protests against a government that is frequently called a theocracy and a dictatorship were organized in response to Amini’s passing.
Activist groups HRANA and Iran Human Rights claim that 481 protesters have died as a result of Tehran’s use of excessive force in response to demonstrations.
Critics also charge that Tehran intimidates potential protestors by abusing the country’s unfair court system. Volker Türk, the head of the UN human rights office, claimed Tehran was “weaponizing” legal processes to carry out “state-sanctioned murdering” of protestors.
According to claims from Iranian authorities and articles in Iranian media examined by CNN and 1500Tasvir, as many as 41 more protestors may have been given death sentences in recent months. However, the actual figure may be far higher.
Numerous government agents, including security personnel and members of the Basij paramilitary group, have reportedly been murdered in the disturbance, according to Iranian state television.
James Cleverley, the British Foreign Secretary, claimed that Akbari’s execution was “politically motivated” despite the fact that it appeared at first glance that it had nothing to do with the recent protests. To “make apparent our disapproval at Iran’s actions,” he claimed, the charge d’affaires of Iran will be called in to discuss the killing.
“Alireza Akbari, a British-Iranian, was executed for a brutal crime that demands the harshest possible condemnation. The Iranian dictatorship has once again demonstrated its callous contempt for human life through this politically motivated conduct, Cleverly wrote on Twitter. “This will not go unopposed.”
The Foreign Office announced that it would continue to assist Akbari’s family. The UK government had pleaded with Iran not to execute Akbari.
Read Next:
