Italy condemns execution in Iran
Antonio Tajani shared on his Twitter account: “The Italian government condemns in the strongest terms the terrible execution of Ali Reza Akbar. “We call on Iran to stop this barbaric spiral of violence against peaceful and legitimate protesters.” Tajani also conveyed a message of solidarity to Akbari’s family and to the United Kingdom, of which he is a citizen.
CONSENTED TO EXECUTE ON CHARGE OF Espionage
Former Deputy Defense Minister Akbari, sentenced to death in Iran on charges of spying on Britain’s behalf, has been executed.
In news from the Mizan News Agency, affiliated with the Iranian judiciary, Akbari, who was sentenced to death on charges of spying on behalf of the British government’s intelligence service, for carrying out extensive activities against the internal and external security of the country and cause mischief in the world, shared the information.
In the news, Akbari was reported to have met British intelligence service agents many times and during these meetings, he offered information on 178 people, including Iranian scientists, to British agents in exchange for money.
Akbari was also reported to have introduced scientist Muhsin Fahrizade, killed on November 27, 2020 in the capital Tehran, as a “key technical figure” during his meetings with British agents.
The Mizan news agency announced on January 11 that Akbari, who served as deputy defense minister under former president Mohammed Khatami, had been arrested and jailed for spying on Britain’s behalf some time ago.
In this process, it was reported that Akbari, who was indicted on the charge of “espionage” for being prosecuted, was sentenced to death by the court. It was claimed that after the defendant’s objection to the decision, the file was moved to the Supreme Court, with the Supreme Court rejecting the objection and approving the death sentence for Akbari.
ALLEGED “BRINGING CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION TO MI6”
In the statement of the Ministry of Intelligence on the subject, it was indicated that it was determined that Akbari transferred the information from the sensitive and strategic centers of the country to the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) of the United Kingdom, known as “MI6”.
In the statement, Akbari was described as “one of the Secret Intelligence Service’s top spies, collecting important information on Iran’s strategic institutions and presenting the collected information to British intelligence many times in a fully conscious and targeted manner.”
Although it is not specified when Akbari, who has dual Iranian-British citizenship, was arrested, the country’s media reported that he was arrested in 2019-2020 on charges of spying on behalf of MI6. (AA)