Iran hangs former Deputy Defense Minister for espionage, accused of spying for British intelligence agency
Tehran's move could escalate tensions with the West amid anti-government protests in the country. On the other hand, Britain has criticized and termed the move to hang the Iranian-British citizen as a barbaric act.
Former Deputy Defense Minister Ali Raza Akbari was hanged on Saturday on charges of spying for British intelligence in Iran. An Iranian-British national holding dual citizenship was hanged despite international warnings. It is believed that amid anti-government protests in the country, Tehran's move could escalate tensions with the West. Here, Britain has criticized and termed the move to hang the Iranian-British citizen as a barbaric act. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said this cowardly act was perpetrated by a barbaric regime that does not respect the human rights of its people.
Akbari said that tortures are being given
The Meizan news agency affiliated with the Iranian judiciary announced the execution of Ali Raza Akbari. No information was given about when the execution took place. Iran had accused Akbari of espionage without presenting evidence that he was a spy for Britain's MI-6 intelligence agency. The Iranian judiciary claimed in a statement that Akbari had received a large sum of money, British citizenship and other favors in return for providing intelligence. Akbari once ran a private think tank. He is believed to have been arrested in 2019, but his case only came to light in recent weeks.
A video message of Akbari, who was the country's deputy defense minister from 2000 to 2008, was released by BBC Persian on Wednesday. In this he had said that he was being tortured. Pressure is being created at gunpoint and death threats to accept false claims.
Many protesters were hanged
Protests that began in Iran last September after the death in police custody of Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini, who was caught for not wearing a hijab, have not subsided. The government is adopting the path of harsh punishment to crush the demonstrations. Till now many protesters have been hanged. According to human rights activists of Iran, 517 people have been killed during the demonstrations and about 20 thousand people have been arrested.