An Iranian-British man has been executed by hanging after being sentenced to death for spying for British intelligence, the Iranian Judiciary Agency announced on Saturday.
Former senior Iranian defense official Alireza Akbari, 61, had been convicted of "corruption on Earth and undermining the internal and external security of the country for passing intelligence" to the United Kingdom, according to Mizan Online.
His execution came three days after the announcement by Iranian justice of the death sentence for this man, presented as having been a "key spy" for the British "Secret intelligence service" (SIS) because of "the importance of his position”.
This announcement angered London, which demanded that the sentence not be carried out.
“Iran must stop the execution of British and Iranian national Alireza Akbari and release him immediately,” reacted the head of British diplomacy James Cleverly.
"This is a politically motivated act by a barbaric regime that has total disregard for human life," he said.
On Thursday, Iranian official media reported that Alireza Akbari had held senior positions in the security and defense apparatus.
According to the IRNA news agency, he was a veteran of the war between Iran and Iraq (1980-1988) before occupying important positions, such as "Deputy Minister of Defense for Foreign Affairs". , head of a unit in a ministerial research center, “advisor to the commander of the Navy”, among others.
He also worked in the "Secretariat of the Supreme National Security Council", IRNA said, adding that Alireza Akbari was arrested between March 2019 and March 2020.
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Death sentence
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