International
Iran executes British-Iranian, Akbari, for allegedly spying
Iran has executed British-Iranian national Alireza Akbari, a report said, after sentencing him to death on charges of spying for Britain.
The report by Iran judiciary’s Mizan news agency comes after British foreign secretary James Cleverly called on Iran to not follow through with the execution of Alireza Akbari, a former Iranian deputy defence minister.
UK described the death sentence as “politically motivated” while noting that “We are supporting the family of Mr Akbari and have repeatedly raised his case with the Iranian authorities. Our priority is securing his immediate release and we have reiterated our request for urgent consular access.”
Akbari has been a dual citizen of Iran and Britain although Iran does not recognise dual nationality for Iranians. Owing to this if dual citizens are detained in Iran, the government does not allow consular access to foreign officials to visit them in detention or attend their trials.
He was once a deputy defence minister in the Iranian government, and a senior member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps.
READ ALSO:Iran executes two more men who participated in nationwide protests
Seen as a moderate figure in the 2000s, Akbari worked with UN observers when he helped in implementing a 1988 cease-fire between Iran and Iraq.
Akbari had been deputy defence minister under Mohammad Khatami, the president of Iran from 1997 to 2005, Guardian reported. Then he had advocates for the Iran nuclear deal which was eventually signed in 2015.
He settled in UK after stepping down from his position. Not seen in public, Akbari ran a private think tank but was later arrested. The grounds for his arrest were cited as meetings with some British government officials over the years, BBC reported.
“Ten or 12 years ago he had formal consultations with British officials and within the scope of his mission. He was not a spy, but the intelligence officials misinterpret a meeting with a university admissions officer, or an estate agent as a meeting with an agent,” his wife told The Guardian.
Join the conversation
Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism
Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.
As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.
If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.
Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.
INVESTIGATION: In Kwara, multimillion-naira milk processing plant is abandoned, converted to a chicken outlet
After the government spent millions of naira to establish a milk processing plant in Kwara State that would provided jobs...
SPECIAL REPORT: For Sokoto communities, promise of healthcare is akin to death sentence
In this story, ABDULRASHEED HAMMAD delves into the dire realities of Primary Health Care services in Sokoto State, shedding light...
ICYMI…SPECIAL REPORT: NNPCL hides behind PIA to frustrate disclosure, accountability
Nigeria’s major oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), in what appears to be a common practice of disregard...
INVESTIGATION: Multi-million naira Ekiti resort center remains uncompleted a decade after
The multimillion-naira project, expected to comprise recreational buildings, now consists of cassava farmland, a bush used for excretion, and a...
SPECIAL REPORT: Torturous experiences of students with disabilities in Oyo tertiary institutions
For students with disabilities in Oyo state-owned tertiary institutions, learning is a torturous and distressing experience, considering the building structures...