ADVERTISEMENT

Iran Issues Death Sentence for Accused U.S. Spy

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani / Getty Images
October 1, 2019

Iran has issued a death sentence for an individual it has accused of spying for the United States, according to the Islamic Republic's judiciary.

Iranian courts also issued jail terms of up to 10 years for individuals Tehran accuses of spying for the United States and the United Kingdom.

Iranian prosecutors in the country's notoriously corrupt legal system have requested that the accused U.S. spies be killed for their alleged crimes.

One accused spy, Ali Nafariyeh, "has been sentenced to 10 years of prison and fined with the payment of $55,000 for spying for the CIA benefit," Gholamhossein Esmayeeli, a spokesman for Iran's judiciary, announced on Tuesday in Tehran, according to the country's state-controlled press.

Another accused spy, Mohammad Babapour, is set to receive a similar sentence.

"Another individual, namely Amir Nasab, has also been sentenced to 10 years in prison for spying for Britain," Esmayeeli said.

The individual sentenced to death has appealed the decision to Iran's court, though it remains unclear if Tehran will stay the execution.

"Members of the [spy] team were identified last year with strenuous efforts of the Iranian security forces and its agents were identified in Iran's sensitive centers, including the nuclear and defense centers and the country's public infrastructures and most of them were arrested," Esmayeeli said when the alleged spy operations were first announced in July.

Published under: Iran