Iran’s Supreme Court has sentenced Alireza Akbari, a former employee of the Iranian Ministry of Defense, who is a citizen of both Iran and the UK, to death. He is called one of the most successful spies embedded in the Iranian defense structures.
Akbari was found guilty of passing classified information relating to internal and external security to the British foreign intelligence service MI-6. The defendant served as Deputy Minister of Defense during the presidency of Mohammad Khatami.
“Iran should cancel the execution of Alireza Akbari and immediately release him. This is a politically motivated action by a barbaric regime that does not value human life,” British Foreign Secretary James Cleverley commented on the verdict.