AA / Tehran, Iran / Syed Zafar Mehdi
A Swedish court on Thursday sentenced a former Iranian official to life in prison for alleged crimes dating back to the late 1980s, a high-profile case that has fueled tensions between Iran and Sweden in recent months.
Hamid Nouri, 61, a former official in Iran’s judiciary, was found guilty by a Stockholm court of what was described as a “serious crime against international law” and “murder”, referring to the executions of members of the Mujahideen e Khalq (MEK) group in 1988.
The MEK group, accused by the Iranian government of preparing terrorist attacks in the country, was removed from the list of foreign terrorist organizations (Foreign Terrorism Organization, FTO) by the American government in September 2012.
“The penalty is life in prison,” the court said in a much-anticipated verdict. Nouri can still appeal the sentence, which could mean a minimum of 20 to 25 years in prison.
The court said Nouri participated “in the executions of numerous political prisoners in Iran during the summer of 1988” and at the time performed “the duties of assistant deputy prosecutor” at Karaj prison.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry quickly condemned the court’s verdict, accusing the Swedish government of “supporting and promoting terrorists”, in reference to the MEK.
Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said Iran rejects the verdict against Nouri, adding that it “is devoid of legal validity”.
The spokesperson warned that Sweden will be held responsible for any damage caused to bilateral relations between Tehran and Stockholm.
The Iranian official was arrested upon his arrival in Sweden in November 2019, but it was not until August 2021 that the trial began against a backdrop of strong politicization.
While Swedish prosecutors have called for a maximum life sentence for Nouri, Iranian officials have waged an intense diplomatic campaign to secure his release.
It comes nearly a week after Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian spoke by phone with his Swedish counterpart, Ann Linde, to demand the “immediate release” of the jailed Iranian official, saying relations between the two countries “should not be affected by propaganda”, referring to the MEK.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Kanaani said Sweden should “provide the necessary elements for Nouri’s release as soon as possible.”
He said the former official’s detention “had no legal basis” and blamed his incarceration on “political propaganda” by the MEK group.
On the same day, the Deputy Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Ali Nikzad, also called on Sweden to release Nouri.
Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s top human rights authority, also wrote a letter to Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, on Tuesday asking the world body to consider the Swedish government as “responsible for the illegal detention and unfair trial” of Nouri.
The issue has sparked heated tensions between the two countries in recent months, especially after Tehran summoned the Swedish ambassador in May to protest the former official’s imprisonment on charges that he described as “fabricated and unfounded”.
*Translated from English by Mourad Belhaj
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