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Britain Condemns Execution of Iran’s Former Deputy Defense Minister PHOTO/Reuters
LONDON – Iran already execute Alireza Akbari, a British-Iranian national who served as Deputy Defense Minister of Iran. The executions defied calls from London for Akbari’s release, after he was sentenced to death on charges of spying for Britain.
Britain, which has declared the case against Akbari as politically motivated, condemned the execution and said it would not go unpunished.
Baca: Get to know Alireza Akbari, a former Iranian official suspected of being a British spy
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called it “a callous and cowardly act by a barbaric regime without respect for the human rights of its own people”.
Iran’s judiciary news agency Mizan reported the execution on Saturday morning, without saying when it took place.
On Friday (13/1/2023) evening, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said Iran should not follow through with the sentence. A similar call has also been echoed by the United States.
“Alireza Akbari, who was sentenced to death on charges of earthly corruption and extensive acts against the country’s internal and external security through espionage for the intelligence services of the British government, was executed,” said the Mizan report.
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The report alleges that Akbari, who was arrested in 2019, received payments of 1,805,000 Euros, 265,000 Pounds and USD 50,000 for spying activities.
In an audio recording purportedly from Akbari and broadcast by BBC Persian on Wednesday, he says he has confessed to a crime he did not commit after extensive torture.
