CNN
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Alireza Akbari, an Anglo-Iranian citizen and former Iranian official, was sentenced to death in Iran for spying for the United Kingdom, according to the judicial branch of Iran’s judiciary Mizan on Wednesday.
Akbari was previously Iran’s Deputy Defense Minister and head of the Institute for Strategic Studies, and a member of the military organization that implements the UN resolution to end the Iran-Iraq war, according to Shargh Daily, Iran’s pro-reform outlet.
According to the charges in Mizan, Akbari “was arrested some time ago for spying against this country. On this basis and after the indictment was brought against the defendant, the case was referred to the court and the hearings were held in the presence of the defendant’s attorney and based on valid documents in the case. profile of this person, he was sentenced to death for spying for Great Britain.”
The British government has called on Iran to stop the execution and release Akbari. The BBC reports that Akbari was arrested in 2019 and that he served under Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, a reformer who was in office from 1997 to 2005.
Akbari appealed the decision, and after reviewing the case, Iran’s Supreme Court upheld the death sentence, according to Mizan. The newspaper claimed Iran’s intelligence ministry had confirmed that Akbari was an undercover agent for Britain’s secretive MI6 intelligence agency, alleging that he had collected “critical national information and provided information” in a way that is fully informed and aware”.
“This spy is in the process of obtaining a visa from the British Embassy because of the intelligence agents stationed there,” Mizan said.
UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly called for a halt to the execution. “Iran must stop the execution of Anglo-Iranian Alireza Akbari and immediately release him. This is a politically motivated act by a barbaric regime that completely disregards human life,” he wrote in a tweet.
A spokesperson for the UK Foreign Office told CNN it is supporting Akbari’s family “and has repeatedly raised his case with Iranian authorities. Our priority is to secure his immediate release and we have reiterated our request for urgent consular access.”
The Islamic Republic of Iran has long ranked among the top execution sites in the world.
Human rights group Amnesty International said in a report from May 2022 that the regime executed 314 people in 2021, 20% more than the year before. Many of them are involved in drug-related crimes.
Last weekend, Iran executed two protesters was accused of killing a security officer, causing a worldwide outcry. Critics argue that the executions are the result of hasty sham trials.
