DUBAI (AP) — Iran on Saturday executed a Swedish-Iranian accused of planning a 2018 attack on a military parade that killed at least 25 people.
Farajollah Cha’ab—also known as Habib Asyoud—was a leader of the Arab Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz, a separatist movement that has carried out oil pipeline bombings and other attacks in Iran’s oil-rich Khuzestan province. The group claimed responsibility for the 2018 attack.
The Iranian judiciary’s Mizan news agency confirmed Cha’ab’s execution in a lengthy statement. He identified him as the leader of the extremist group and alleged, without providing evidence, that he had links to the intelligence services of Sweden, Israel and the United States. He accused his group of killing or injuring 450 people over the years, including multiple attacks on government offices and other sites.
The statement also included state television interviews with the Cha’ab, a feature of many Iranian trials that activists see as forced confessions.
Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom condemned Cha’ab’s execution.
“The death penalty is an inhuman and irrevocable punishment, and Sweden, along with the rest of the (European Union), condemns its use in all circumstances,” it said in a statement.
Finland and Norway also condemned the execution, underlining their stance against the death penalty. “I am horrified,” said Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto.
Oslo-based Iran Human Rights group condemned the execution, calling Cha’ab’s closed-door trial “grossly unfair”.
Last year, a Swedish court sentenced an Iranian to life in prison for his role in the 1988 mass executions in Iran at the end of its war with Iraq. Tehran, which has used the prisoners as a bargaining chip in negotiations with the West, reacted angrily to the ruling. Meanwhile, tensions prevail between Iran and the West over Iran’s nuclear program. ___ Nasser Karimi in Tehran and Jari Tanner in Helsinki contributed to this report.
