Tehran, Iran An ex-deputy defense minister who was accused of spying for the UK was executed by Iran.
Alireza Akbari, a dual citizen of Britain and Iran, was hanged on Saturday morning following his conviction for “corruption on Earth” and interfering with national security by spying for British intelligence, according to the judiciary’s official news agency.
It further stated that Akbari had already received a death sentence for “harming the country’s internal and external security by passing on intelligence”.
“The actions of the British spy service, in this case, have shown the value of the convict, the importance of his access, and the enemy’s trust in him,”, it continued.
It was asserted that he had been trained by MI-6, had set up front firms to impede Iranian intelligence services, attended intelligence gatherings in a number of nations, including Austria and the UAE, and had been granted British citizenship as payment for “betraying” his nation.
It was “a brutal and cowardly crime carried out by a barbaric administration with no respect for the human rights of their own people,” British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said.
James Cleverly, the foreign minister, declared: “This barbaric act deserves condemnation in the strongest possible terms. This will not stand unchallenged.”
He had previously called for a halt to Akbari’s execution, saying “this is a politically motivated act by a barbaric regime that has total disregard for human life”.
The execution had been halted on calls from the US as well.
Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a renowned nuclear scientist who was slain in a town close to Tehran in 2020, was one of the senior Iranian officials about whom Akbari is believed to have provided information. Iran attributed the assault to Israel. The Iranian judiciary claims that Akbari collaborated with British intelligence starting in 2004 and continued for five years before departing the nation. He claims that the UK recommended him to leave Iran in 2009.
Then, it is claimed that Akbari returned to Iran a number of years later to carry on with his operations before being apprehended.
His arrest date was not disclosed by the judiciary, however, he was reportedly detained in 2019.
When Akbari was Ali Shamkhani’s deputy from 1997 to 2005, the state-run IRNA news agency published a video purporting to be “confessions” by Akbari, who is reported to have been a close buddy of Shamkhani, Iran’s current security chief and defense minister during that time.
His family claimed to the British media that Akbari was innocent and had been a victim of Iranian “political games.”
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA
