Iran sentences dual national to prison over spying
Iran sentences dual national to prison over spying
A court in Iran on Sunday sentenced a dual national man to eight and a half years in prison after finding him guilty of infiltration of important governmental bodies, Iran’s judiciary spokesman said, according to The Associated Press.
The spokesman, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejehi, said the suspect was tried based on a report by the intelligence department after he infiltrated “some sensitive centers.”
A report in the Iranian ISNA news agency identified the convict’s surname as Tavakkoli and said he was also fined $48,000. It did not specify his other nationality, but added, “Usually these sorts of individuals are working for the US and Israel.”
Iran regularly says it captured spies, and sometimes those are sentenced to death. In August, the Islamic Republic arrested dozens of spies working for state bodies, many of them dual nationals.
Two years ago, the Islamic Republic arrested a member of the negotiating team that reached a nuclear deal with world powers on suspicion of spying.
In another incident that year, Iran announced it had executed a nuclear scientist convicted of handing over “confidential and vital” information to the United States.
In June of 2012, Iran claimed to have dismantled a terrorist and sabotage network in the southern city of Shiraz, which allegedly planned bombings and assassination attempts during Iran’s presidential election.
A month earlier, Iran hanged two convicted spies, one accused and found guilty of working for Israel, the other for the United States.
In a previous incident, Iran executed Majid Jamali Fashi after convicting him of spying for the Mossad and of playing a key role in the January 2010 assassination of a top nuclear scientist in return for payment of $120,000.
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Source: Israel National News
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