As of: 01/11/2023 6:59 p.m
He was a key spy for the British secret service: Iran has sentenced former Deputy Defense Minister Akbari to death. The British government called for Akbari’s release and spoke of a “politically motivated” sentence.
Former Iranian Deputy Defense Minister Ali Resa Akbari has been sentenced to death for espionage. The Supreme Court confirmed the sentence, the Tasnim news agency reported. Akbari was a key spy for British intelligence. He was exposed after the Iranian secret service lured him into a trap with false information.
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.
British government demands release
Akbari was deputy defense minister during the presidency of reformer Mohammed Khatami until 2001. He later ran a private think tank and has not been seen in public since 2019.
The British government sided with Akbari. Secretary of State James Cleverly said Akbari’s planned execution was “politically motivated” and called for his immediate release.
Internal power struggle in Tehran?
For days there had been rumors in the Iranian capital Tehran about the identity of an imprisoned politician who had been exposed as a “master spy”. According to reports, the case could also point to an internal power struggle in Tehran. As a high-ranking politician in the Defense Ministry, Akbari maintained close ties to politicians who were trying to mediate and reconcile 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 information cannot be independently verified.
Trials for espionage and other crimes against national security usually take place behind closed doors in Iran. According to human rights groups, the accused are not allowed to choose their own lawyer or see the evidence against them.