Alireza Akbari
Akbari in 2007
Deputy Minister of Defence
In office
February 2000 – 24 August 2005
PresidentMohammad Khatami
MinisterAli Shamkhani
Personal details
Born(1961-10-21)21 October 1961
Shiraz, Iran
Died14 January 2023(2023-01-14) (aged 61)
Tehran, Iran
Cause of deathExecution by hanging
Citizenship Iran
 United Kingdom

Alireza Akbari (Persian: علیرضا اکبری; 21 October 1961 – c. 14 January 2023) was an Iranian politician, a senior Islamic revolutionary guard officer with Iranian and British citizenship, as well as an MI6 informant.[1][2][3][4] He was Deputy Minister of Defence from 1998 to 2003 under General Ali Shamkhani during the presidency of reformist Mohammad Khatami.[5]

Akbari was first arrested in Iran in 2009, accused of spying for Britain.[6][7][8] Akbari was arrested again in 2019 while travelling from the United Kingdom to Iran, and sentenced to death for charges including accused of spying for Britain,[9][1][10] Mofsed-e-filarz (translating to "corruption on Earth"),[11] stemming from accusations that Akbari committed espionage on behalf of the United Kingdom's intelligence agency, MI6.[9][12][13] Akbari and his family denied Iran's espionage charges.[14]

On 14 January 2023, the Iranian Judiciary announced that Akbari had been executed by hanging after having been convicted of spying.[15][16] Akbari's execution was met with controversy and condemnation, particularly from British political figures.[11]

Early life

Alireza Akbari was born on 21 October 1961 in Shiraz. After the 1979 Iranian Revolution, he was active in the Association of Student Islamic Societies.[5]

Career

During the Iran–Iraq War he fought with the Badr Brigades, becoming a deputy division commander. His obituary in The Daily Telegraph states he was a senior commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.[5]

Akbari was a member of the military organisation which implemented the 1988 cease-fire between Iran and Iraq and ended the Iran–Iraq War in 1988, under United Nations Security Council Resolution 598.[17] He also had other security roles, including advising the Iranian navy.[18] Akbari was considered a close ally to Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani, who appointed him Deputy Minister of Defence, a position he held from 1998 and 2003.[18][5] Akbari was a leading opponent of a nuclear deal between Iran and the West on national security grounds. He is quoted as saying "If we retreat every time they put pressure on us, they will continue the pressure and push us farther back until we are completely disarmed and defenceless". His role involved liaising with foreign embassies in Tehran, responsible for putting the case that Iran's nuclear programme was for peaceful purposes.[5] Akbari retired from government service in 2004 and went into business, which involved travelling from and to Iran.[5]

In 2008, under the government of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Akbari was arrested on suspicion of spying for Britain but later released on bail.[5] The Tehran Times reported he left Iran in 2009, moving to Europe and later England.[15] Akbari's brother, Mehdi, says he obtained British citizenship by naturalisation through making investments and creating jobs in Britain; the Iranian authorities say citizenship was given as part of a spying deal. He thus became a British-Iranian dual national. There are reports that he mainly lived in Spain.[5][19] Akbari ran a private think tank before his arrest in 2019.[18]

Arrest and charges

Akbari was arrested in 2019 on a visit to Iran according to the BBC.[11] Iranian state media published a video on 12 January 2023 which argued that Akbari played a role in the assassination of Iran's top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, killed in a 2020 attack outside Tehran. Akbari did not confess to being directly involved in the plot, but said a British agent had asked for information about him.[20] Later, the BBC released a purported recording of Akbari's telephone call to his family from prison, wherein he alleged that he was forcibly administered drugs and chemical substances, held in solitary confinement for prolonged periods of time, forced to make repeated recorded confessions, and subjected to torture.[11][21]

Akbari was accused of providing information to British officials (Mi 5, 16, 13) regarding 178 Iranian figures, including Fakhrizadeh and Gen. Col Solemai Khomani killed in 2019 by foreign intelligence agencies. Iranian officials claimed Akbari worked through a private company that had direct contact with research institutes headed by intelligence officials in London.[11]

Death sentence and execution

On 11 January Mizan, the arm of Iran's state media, announced that Akbari had been sentenced to death.[11] Before Akbari's execution, Iran's state news agency, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), announced that the Supreme Court of Iran had upheld Akbari's death sentence, declaring that it was based on "substantiated evidence."[11]

On 14 January 2023 Akbari's execution by hanging was announced.[22] Mizan's report announcing Akbari's execution did not specify the date on which it was carried out.[11][23]

Four months after the execution of Alireza Akbari, the New York Times newspaper in an article written by Farnaz Fasihi and Ronen Bergman, citing Western and Israeli intelligence sources, confirmed that he had spied on Iran's nuclear and military programs. According to the New York Times report, Akbari gave information about the Fordow site to the British government, which was then provided by Britain to its allies. According to the New York Times, Iran discovered him with the cooperation of the Russian Intelligence Organization. [24]

Reactions

In January 2023 the UK government said the accusations levelled against Akbari were not true and were intended for political bargaining. British foreign minister James Cleverly denied the allegations against Akbari and called them "politically motivated," saying that Iran's chargé d'affaires would be summoned over the execution so British officials could express their "disgust at Iran's actions."[11][25][26] Cleverly called Akbari's execution "barbaric" in a Twitter post and said, "the Iranian regime has once again shown its callous disregard for human life. This will not stand unchallenged."[11] Prior to the execution, the UK government had urged Iranian officials not to carry out Akbari's execution.

UK prime minister Rishi Sunak said he was "appalled by the execution," posting on Twitter that Akbari's execution was "a callous and cowardly act, carried out by a barbaric regime with no respect for the human rights of their own people."[11]

After the UK government condemned the execution of Akbari, the Iranian Foreign Ministry issued a statement, saying "The British regime, whose royal family member, sees the killing of 25 innocent people as removal of chess pieces and has no regrets over the issue, and those who turn a blind eye to this war crime, are in no position to preach others on human rights."[27][28]

French president Emmanuel Macron expressed his solidarity and condemned the execution on Twitter. Macron said, "The execution of Alireza Akbari is a despicable and barbaric act. His name adds to too long a list of victims of repression and the death penalty in Iran. Solidarity with the UK. Solidarity with the Iranian people".[29]

Human rights organisation Amnesty International called Akbari's execution "particularly horrific" and an "abhorrent assault on the right to life." Amnesty also requested that the UK government "fully investigate" the accusations that Akbari was subjected to torture and ill treatment in prison and "pursue all avenues to hold the Iranian authorities to account."[11]

The US, the EU and the UK condemned Iran for executing Alireza Akbari and other Iranian citizens. The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken vowed that Tehran will be punished for human rights abuses during the crackdown of widespread demonstrations.[30]

Private life

Akbari married Maryam Samadi (born in 1969, Iranian-Austrian). They have two daughters, Atefeh and Faezeh. Atefeh married to Mohsen Shalbaf.[5] Ramin Forghani, his nephew, founded the Iranian Atheists Association in Glasgow in 2013, and was vice-chair of the Scottish Secular Society.[31][32]

References

  1. 1 2 Motamedi, Maziar. "Iran hangs former defence ministry official for spying for UK". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  2. ↑ ItalianPostNews (14 January 2023). "Iran, Alireza Akbari executed: he was accused of being a British spy". Italian Post. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  3. ↑ "Iran's execution of British-Iranian Alireza Akbari further raises tensions with UK". The Independent. 14 January 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  4. ↑ "Iranian Insider and British Spy: How a Double Life Ended on the Gallows". The New York Times. 1 May 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Alireza Akbari, British citizen executed by Iran on spying charges – obituary". The Daily Telegraph. 16 January 2023. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  6. ↑ "Iran executes British-Iranian national Alireza Akbari accused of spying". The Guardian. 14 January 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  7. ↑ "Factbox: Alireza Akbari: the British-Iranian executed by Tehran". Reuters. 14 January 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  8. ↑ "Iran sentences ex-official, a British dual citizen, to death on spying charges". France 24. 11 January 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  9. 1 2 Fassihi, Farnaz (14 January 2023). "Iran Executes Former Defense Official, a Dual U.K. Citizen, on Spy Charges". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  10. ↑ Eqbali, Sune Engel Rasmussen and Aresu (14 January 2023). "Iran Hangs Alireza Akbari, Dual U.K. Citizen Accused of Spying". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Akbarzai, Sahar; Moshtaghian, Artemis (14 January 2023). "UK condemns Iran's execution of dual British-Iranian citizen Alireza Akbari". CNN. Archived from the original on 14 January 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  12. ↑ "Iran says ex-official had role in death of nuclear scientist". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  13. ↑ "Alireza Akbari: British-Iranian national accused of being UK spy executed in Iran". Sky News. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  14. ↑ "Alireza Akbari: Iran preparing to execute British citizen". BBC News. 11 January 2023. Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  15. 1 2 Kuhpayeh, Faramarz (14 January 2023). "Soldier Negotiator Expert Spy". Tehran Times. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  16. ↑ "جاسوس سرویس اطلاعات مخفی انگلیس به دار مجازات آویخته شد/ از همکاری گسترده با افسران اطلاعاتی انگلیس و اخذ مبالغ هنگفت تا سناریوی دروغ سکته‌سازی و اخذ تابعی خبرگزاری میزا" [The spy of the British Secret Intelligence Service was hanged]. Mizan (in Persian). 14 January 2023. Archived from the original on 14 January 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  17. ↑ "Who is Alireza Akbari, ex-deputy Iranian defence minister, that Tehran plans to execute for espionage?". Firstpost. 12 January 2023. Archived from the original on 13 January 2023. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  18. 1 2 3 Osborne, Samuel (14 January 2023). "Alireza Akbari: Who was the British-Iranian national executed in Iran?". Sky News. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  19. ↑ "British citizenship by investment". Imperial & Legal. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  20. ↑ Hafezi, Parisa (12 January 2023). "Iran media claims British-Iranian facing execution had links to scientist killing". Reuters. Archived from the original on 12 January 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  21. ↑ "Alireza Akbari: Iran preparing to execute British citizen – family". BBC News. 11 January 2023. Archived from the original on 12 January 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  22. ↑ "Iran executes British-Iranian national Alireza Akbari accused of spying". The Guardian. 14 January 2023. Archived from the original on 14 January 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  23. ↑ "Alireza Akbari: Iran executes British-Iranian dual national". BBC News. 14 January 2023. Archived from the original on 14 January 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  24. ↑ "Iranian Insider and British Spy: How a Double Life Ended on the Gallows'". The New York Times. 1 May 2023.
  25. ↑ "James Cleverly says Iran must halt execution of British citizen". The Guardian. 11 January 2023. Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  26. ↑ "Iran: Foreign Secretary calls on the Iranian regime to halt the execution of Alireza Akbari". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  27. ↑ Lynch, Niamh (17 January 2023). "Iran criticises Prince Harry over admission he killed 25 Taliban fighters – calling it 'war crime'". Sky News. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  28. ↑ McTaggart, India (17 January 2023). "Iran uses Prince Harry's Taliban kill count revelation to justify Alireza Akbari execution". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  29. ↑ Emmanuel Macron [@EmmanuelMacron] (14 January 2023). "The execution of Alireza Akbari is a despicable and barbaric act" (Tweet). Retrieved 21 January 2023 – via Twitter.
  30. ↑ "Blinken says U.S. 'appalled' by execution of British-Iranian national". Reuters. 17 January 2023. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  31. ↑ Kenny, Peter (14 December 2015). "Catholic Church supports plans for State-supported Muslim school in Scotland". Ecumenical News. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  32. ↑ "Ramin FORGHANI personal appointments - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
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