Iran has sentenced a former top politician to death over espionage allegations. As the justice portal “Misan” announced on Wednesday, Aliresa Akbari was exposed as one of the “most important agents for the British secret service”. The judgment of the Supreme Court is final. Iran accuses Akbari of leaking state secrets.
According to the BBC, Akbari, who also has British citizenship, was arrested in 2019. The former deputy secretary of defense rejected the allegations of espionage. He is now said to have been placed in solitary confinement, suggesting an imminent execution.
The British government sided with Akbari. “We support Mr Akbari’s family and have repeatedly raised his case with the Iranian authorities,” a UK Foreign Office spokesman told the BBC.
Rumors have been circulating in the Iranian capital Tehran for days about the identity of an imprisoned politician who has been exposed as a “master spy”. According to reports, the case could also point to an internal power struggle in Tehran.
court processes in secret
As a senior politician in the Defense Ministry, Akbari maintained close ties with politicians who sought mediation and reconciliation after the recent wave of protests, the UK-based online medium amwaj.media reported.
There are repeated reports of the arrests, arrests and executions of Iranians who are accused of working for foreign secret services, above all for the Israeli Mossad or the US secret service CIA. The Iranian data cannot usually be independently verified. Both the arrests and trials are kept secret. (dpa)
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