In high-profile case, Sweden hands life term to ex-Iranian official

TEHRAN, Iran

A Swedish court on Thursday sentenced a former Iranian official to life in prison over alleged crimes dating back to the late 1980s, a high-profile case that fueled tensions between Iran and Sweden in recent months.

Hamid Nouri, a 61-year-old former Iranian judiciary official, was convicted by a court in Stockholm of what it termed a "serious crime against international law" and "murder," alluding to the executions of members of Mujahideen e Khalq (MEK) group in 1988.

MEK group, accused by the Iranian government of plotting terrorist attacks in the country, was removed from the foreign terrorist organization (FTO) list by the US government in September 2012.

"The sentence is life imprisonment," the court said in a much-anticipated verdict. Nouri can still appeal against the sentence, which could mean a minimum of 20 to 25 years in jail.

The court said Nouri had participated “in the executions of many political prisoners in Iran in the summer of 1988" and served “the role of assistant to the deputy prosecutor” at the prison in Karaj at the time.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry quickly condemned the court verdict, accusing the Swedish government of "supporting and promoting terrorists,” a reference to the MEK.

In a statement, ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said Iran rejects the verdict against Nouri, adding that it "lacks legal validity.”

The spokesman warned that Sweden will be held responsible for any damage to bilateral relations between Tehran and Stockholm.

The Iranian official was arrested immediately upon his arrival in Sweden in November 2019, but it was only in August 2021 that the trial began in a highly political atmosphere.

While Swedish prosecutors called for a maximum penalty of a life term for Nouri, Iranian officials mounted an aggressive diplomatic campaign to seek his release.

It came almost a week after Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian spoke to his Swedish counterpart Ann Linde over the phone, demanding the "immediate release" of the jailed Iranian official, saying relations between the two countries "should not be affected by propaganda,” referring to MEK.

At a news conference on Wednesday, Kanaani said Sweden should "provide the grounds for the release of Nouri as soon as possible."

He said the former official's detention "lacked legal basis" and blamed his incarceration on the "political hype" created by the MEK group.

On the same day, Iran's Deputy Parliament Speaker Ali Nikzad also made comments, calling on Sweden to release Nouri.

Iran's top human rights official, Kazem Gharibabadi, also wrote a letter to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Tuesday, asking the world body to hold the Swedish government "accountable for the illegal detention and trial" of Nouri.

The issue has in recent months led to heightened tensions between the two countries, especially after Tehran summoned the Swedish envoy in May to protest the imprisonment of the former official over what it dubbed "fabricated and baseless" charges.