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Iran has sentenced a former senior defence official to death after convicting him on charges of spying for Britain, state-linked media reported on Wednesday.
The judiciary said Ali Reza Akbari, who was deputy defence minister until 2001, was a “key spy” for British intelligence, the semiofficial Tasnim news agency reported. It said Iranian intelligence unmasked the spying by feeding him false information.
Tasnim also reported that he had spied on past nuclear talks between Iran and Western powers. Akbari had served as deputy defence minister under former president Mohammad Khatami, a reformist who had pushed for improved relations with the West.
Akbari’s family told BBC Persian that Iranian authorities were preparing to execute him, adding that he had been transferred to solitary confinement – seen as a sign that an execution is imminent.
Alireza Akbari’s wife, Maryam, said an official had asked her to come to his prison in Tehran for a “final meeting”.
BBC Persian has learned that the execution of a British-Iranian citizen is imminent.
Alireza Akbari is found guilty of “spying for MI6”.
The family were told to have their final meeting today before the execution, Akbari’s wife told BBC Persian. pic.twitter.com/DJE1d2SwTK
— Parham Ghobadi (@BBCParham) January 11, 2023
British Foreign Minister James Cleverly called for Akbari to be freed.
“Iran must halt the execution of British-Iranian national Alireza Akbari and immediately release him,” Cleverly wrote on Twitter. “This is a politically motivated act by a barbaric regime that has total disregard for human life.”
Iran must halt the execution of…
Source : france24
