According to the news of Mizan News Agency, affiliated to the Iranian Judiciary, “Ali Rıza Akbari, who was sentenced to death on charges of spying on behalf of the British government’s intelligence service, carrying out extensive activities against the country’s internal and external security and causing corruption in the world, has been executed.” statements were included.
In the report, it was reported that Akbari met with the agents of the British intelligence service many times and during these meetings, he offered information about 178 people, including Iranian scientists, to British agents in exchange for money.
It was reported that Akbari introduced the scientist Muhsin Fahrizade, who was assassinated on 27 November 2020 in the capital Tehran, as a “key technical figure” in his meetings with British agents.
Mizan News Agency reported that Ali Rıza Akbari, who served as the Deputy Minister of Defense during the period of Former President Muhammed Khatami, on January 11, a while ago. Britain He announced that he was arrested and imprisoned for spying on his behalf.
In this process, it was informed that Akbari, who was prosecuted on charges of “espionage” by being prosecuted, was sentenced to death by the court. It was stated that after the defendant’s objection to the decision, the file was transferred to the Supreme Court and that the Supreme Court rejected the objection and approved the death sentence for Akbari.
In the statement of the Ministry of Intelligence on the subject, it was stated that it was determined that Akbari transferred the information of the country’s sensitive and strategic centers to the UK’s Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), known as “MI6”.
In the statement, Akbari was described as “one of the most important spies of the Secret Intelligence Service, who collected important information about Iran’s strategic institutions and presented the information he gathered to the 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 between 2019 and 2020 on charges of espionage on behalf of MI6.
* The image of the news is provided by the Associated Press.
Reacting to Akbar’s death sentence, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, in a message shared on Twitter on January 11, described the decision as “political” and called for Akbari’s execution to be stopped and his immediate release.