Ali Reza Akbari: UK calls on Iran to stop execution of British-Iranian citizen

Iran's former senior defence official facing death sentence over charges of spying for British intelligence

Ali Reza Akbari, Iran's former deputy defence minister who was arrested in 2019. Photo: @doyaksec via Twitter

The UK government has condemned Iran's intention to execute British-Iranian dual citizen Ali Reza Akbari.

The former Iranian senior defence official has reportedly been charged with spying for British intelligence and Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has urged authorities to halt his execution.

Mr Akbari left Iran after stepping down as deputy defence minister in 2001 and settled in the UK, where he became a naturalised citizen. It is believed he was arrested in 2019 in Iran.

His family and British officials decided against publicising his case at the time in the hope he would be released on an internal appeal.

However, he was reportedly told three months ago his final appeal had been rejected. He was placed in solitary confinement 48 hours ago and informed his execution was imminent.

“Iran must halt the execution of British-Iranian national Ali Reza Akbari and immediately release him,” Mr Cleverly tweeted.

“This is a politically motivated act by a barbaric regime that has total disregard for human life.”

Mr Akbari is a former Iranian deputy defence minister who was arrested in 2019 and accused of passing information to MI6, the British intelligence agency, on past nuclear talks between Iran and western nations, reports say.

He has denied the charge and said he was tortured and forced to confess on camera to crimes he did not commit, BBC Persian reported.

Mr Akbari's wife Maryam said she was invited to a “final meeting” at the prison where he has been put in solitary confinement, an apparent sign that an execution is imminent.

Ms Akbari, who lives in London, told The Guardian she was fearful her husband would be executed within the next 24 hours.

“He is entirely innocent and the victim of political games inside the country,” she said.

“There is no evidence that he was a spy except a confession that was extracted after he was drugged and interrogated for 3,500 hours. He loves his country, but this is part of a political power game inside Tehran. His only contacts with British officials were those permitted by his official status.”

House of Commons foreign affairs committee chairwoman Alicia Kearns accused the Iranians of seeking to use dual citizens as weapons while anti-government protests shake the country.

“It is another horrifying example of the Iranian regime — because they feel they are cornered, because there is such significant pressure from sanctions — weaponising British nationals and industrialising hostage-taking,” Ms Kearns told BBC Radio 4.

She said Mr Akbari might have been singled out by the regime because of his closeness to a leading Iranian moderate who has led calls for dialogue.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe — in pictures

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe became a household name in 2016 when she was detained in Iran while on a visit to see her family. In March, she was released. PA

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe meeting British tennis star Andy Murray in December. Photo: Andy Murray / Twitter

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe speaking to Woman's Hour presenter Emma Barnett for a special edition of the BBC Radio 4 programme in May. PA

Former British prime minister Boris Johnson meeting Mrs Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe at Downing Street in May. Photo: Downing Street

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe and her husband Richard Ratcliffe arriving at Downing Street for the meeting in May. Reuters

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, Richard Ratcliffe and their daughter Gabriella with Speaker of the House of Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle and MP Tulip Siddiq at the Palace of Westminster, in March. Photo: UK Parliament

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe and her husband at a press conference hosted by their local MP Tulip Siddiq in March. Getty Images

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, flanked by her husband, at the press conference. AFP

Ms Siddiq takes a selfie at her first meeting with Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe, after campaigning for six years for her release from Iran. PA

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe with her daughter Gabriella, husband and former foreign secretary Liz Truss, after arriving back in the UK in March. Photo: Downing Street

The family hug upon her arrival at RAF Brize Norton. AFP

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe and fellow former detainee Anoosheh Ashoori as they fly over London in March. Reuters

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe on the plane en route to London after leaving Tehran, in March. Reuters

“I wonder if this is an effort to undermine that individual," Ms Kearns said.

"It is also a chance for the Iranians to reiterate their narrative that the British government, the American government, are trying to undermine the regime and overthrow the Iranian regime,” she said.

Ms Kearns said western countries should respond with new sanctions to recent executions of anti-government protesters.

“Every time the Iranian government assassinates an individual involved in the protests, there should be sanctions applied by western governments the next day to make the point that we stand by those protesting for the basic rights of Iranians — otherwise we are showing no meaningful support to them,” she said.

Amnesty International called the reports of Mr Akbari’s death sentence “distressing and deeply concerning” and urged the government to do more to prevent the execution.

“There’s a long-standing pattern of British-Iranians being arrested, mistreated and arbitrarily jailed by the Iranian authorities, in cases sometimes amounting to state hostage-taking," said Freshta Sharif, Amnesty International UK’s campaign manager.

"But an execution would represent a terrifying intensification of this process of using foreign nationals as diplomatic pawns."

Ms Sharif said the UK had “a weak record when it comes to lobbying for the release of arbitrarily jailed Britons in Iran”.

“Ministers must be able to show they have a clear plan for ensuring the threat of execution is lifted from Ali Reza and that allegations he was tortured and forced to falsely confess are fully investigated,” she said.

Tehran has detained a number of dual and foreign citizens in recent years, including British-Iranian national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was held in 2016 and released last year.

For several years, Iran has been locked in a shadow war with the US and Israel, marked by covert attacks on its disputed nuclear programme.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori released — in pictures

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe reunited with her husband, Richard Ratcliffe, and their daughter, Gabriella, after being held for six years in Iran. Photo: @TulipSiddiq via Twitter

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori, centre, with their families. Photo: @lilika49 via Twitter

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe with her daughter at RAF Brize Norton airbase. EPA

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe with her daughter Gabriella, husband Richard and British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss at RAF Brize Norton. EPA

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori were released in March 2022. Reuters

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Mr Ashoori with the cabin crew in Brize Norton. Reuters

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Mr Ashoori as their plane flies over London. Reuters

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe sits in a plane en route to London after taking off from Teheran. Reuters

Mr Ashoori gestures as he sits in the plane heading to London. Reuters

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested in Tehran in April 2016 as she prepared to fly back to the UK, having taken her daughter Gabriella to see relatives. AFP

She was accused of plotting to overthrow the Iranian government and sentenced to five years in jail, spending four years in Tehran’s Evin Prison and one under house arrest. Photo: Tulip Siddiq / Twitter

Richard Ratcliffe with daughter Gabriella outside their house in London on Wednesday. AFP

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Mr Ashoori arrive in Oman en route to the UK. Photo: @badralbusaidi / Twitter

Mr Ratcliffe went on a hunger strike in October 2021 in protest at the UK government’s failure to secure his wife's release. AFP

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe boards a plane as she prepares to leave Tehran. Reuters

Mr Ratcliffe told the media that the family plan to find solace elsewhere for a few days. Reuters

Gabriella was not yet two when her mother was arrested. Photo: Tulip Siddiq / Twitter

The killing of Iran’s top nuclear scientist in 2020, which Iran blamed on Israel, indicated foreign intelligence services had made major inroads.

Authorities have not released any details about Mr Akbari's trial.

Those accused of espionage and other crimes related to national security are usually tried behind closed doors, where rights groups say they do not choose their own lawyers and are not allowed to see evidence against them.

News agency Tasnim said the Supreme Court upheld Mr Akbari's sentence and that he had access to a lawyer.

He led the implementation of a 1988 ceasefire between Iran and Iraq after their eight-year war, working closely with UN observers.