Chaab has been detained in Iran since October 2020 after disappearing during a trip to Turkey and being tried in Tehran a month later. He has been accused of carrying out attacks “under the protection” of the Israeli foreign intelligence agency Mossad and the Swedish intelligence agency SAPO since 2005.
Chaab was found guilty of “corruption on earth” for forming and leading a rebel group called Harakat al-Nidal (Arab Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz) and sentenced to death on December 6. In March, the country’s Supreme Court upheld the verdict.
Borrell: Several EU nationals detained
Sweden, which currently holds the EU Council Presidency, condemned Chaab’s execution. “The death penalty is an inhuman and irreversible punishment,” Foreign Minister Billström wrote on Twitter. “Sweden, together with the rest of the EU, condemns its application under all circumstances.” Stockholm had previously contacted Tehran “and demanded that the judgment not be carried out,” Billstrom added.
EU foreign policy chief Borrell condemned the execution “strongly” on behalf of the EU. “The EU offers its condolences to Mr. Chaab’s family and expresses its full solidarity with Sweden,” the statement said.
The EU calls on Iran to refrain from future executions. “The increasing number of EU nationals arbitrarily detained in Iran, the restrictions on consular access of EU citizens, the denial of consular protection and the right to a fair trial are in direct contradiction to international law,” Borrell said.
Iran Human Rights: Chaab was tortured
Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP) also condemned the execution “strongly”. “Under all circumstances, this inhuman punishment must be abolished once and for all. I call on Iran to stop all executions!” Schallenberg wrote on Twitter.
The human rights organization Iran Human Rights, based in Norway, also condemned the execution. She said Chaab was “tortured after his kidnapping” and called for a “strong response from the international community.”
Forced Confession?
Iran regards Harakat al-Nidal as a “terrorist group” and accuses it of organizing attacks in the southwestern Iranian province of Khuzestan. A large Arab minority lives in the oil-rich province, and its members have long complained about exclusion. Ahwas is the capital of Khusestan.
Iranian state television released a video in which Chaab claimed responsibility for an attack on a military parade in Ahwas in 2018. According to the authorities, 25 people were killed and almost 250 others injured. Chaab said he was working with Saudi Arabian intelligence agencies. Human rights groups outside of Iran often view such confessions as “coerced” and argue that they are not freely given.
Death penalty for German-Iranians
At least 16 Westerners are currently being held in Iran. Most of them also have Iranian citizenship. In January, Iran caused international outrage with the execution of former British-Iranian politician Aliresa Akbari, who had been convicted of alleged espionage.
At the end of April, the Supreme Court in Iran confirmed the death penalty against the German-Iranian Jamshid Sharmahd. Activists based abroad have accused Iran of a “hostage-taking” policy. These aim to obtain concessions or the release of Iranians imprisoned abroad.
