Iranian justice has sentenced to death a British-Iranian convicted of spying on behalf of the United Kingdom, the body of the Judiciary announced on Wednesday January 11, angering London which called for the non-execution of the sentence.
"
Alireza Akbari was sentenced to death for corruption on earth and for undermining the internal and external security of the country for transmitting intelligence
," Mizan Online reported.
British Foreign Minister James Cleverly reacted strongly on Twitter: "
Iran must stop the execution of British and Iranian national Alireza Akbari and release him immediately
".
“
This is a politically motivated act by a barbaric regime that has total disregard for human life,
” he condemned.
A 'key spy' in British intelligence
Mizan Online did not provide specifics on the dates of the arrest and conviction, which was upheld by the Supreme Court.
The agency also does not specify the functions exercised by the convict.
But it indicates, citing a press release from the Ministry of Intelligence, that Alireza Akbari had become a “
key spy
” for the British “
Secret intelligence service
” (SIS) because of “
the importance of his position
”.
He provided "
important information from the country
" to this service, according to the same source.
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On February 2, 2019, the daily
Iran
, a government newspaper, published an interview with Alireza Akbari as "
former deputy defense minister in the reformist government
" of Mohammad Khatami (1997-2005).
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In early December, four Iranians were executed after being sentenced to death for "
cooperation
" with Israel, a sworn enemy of the Islamic Republic.
Iran regularly announces the arrest of agents suspected of working for foreign intelligence services, including Israel.
Relations between Tehran and London have been weighed down in recent years by the arrest of several dual nationals.
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