hanged two Muslim Iranians—one for spying for Israel and the other for membership in the Mojahedin-e Khalq.
Both men were hanged inside Evin prison in Tehran, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.
Ali-Akbar Siadat, whose name showed that he was Muslim and not Jewish, had been accused of providing Israel with classified information on Iran’s military capabilities, including details about maneuvers, bases, operational jet fighters, military flights, air crashes and missiles, IRNA reported.
That type of information would not likely be available to anyone outside the government, but IRNA did not say if Siadat was a government employee.
According to IRNA, Siadat confessed to spying for Israel from 2004 until his arrest in 2008 in return for $60,000, as well as an additional $3,000 to $7,000 each time he met with his Israeli handlers abroad. IRNA said he met up with Israeli intelligence agents during “foreign trade” trips to Turkey, Thailand and the Netherlands and that he transferred data through a digital camera, transmitters and a laptop.
IRNA said Siadat was arrested in 2008 while trying to leave Iran with his wife.
In 2008, Iran executed Ali Ashtari, also a Muslim, who was convicted of relaying information on Iran’s nuclear program to Israel. Ashtari was said to have gathered information as an electronics salesman provided equipment to Iran’s nuclear agency.
In 2000, a court convicted 10 Iranian Jews of spying for Israel and sentenced them to prison terms ranging from four to 13 years. All were released after international pressure before serving their full sentences. They were not believed to be spies, but victims of an internal power struggle among security agencies.
IRNA also reported that Ali Sarami was hanged Tuesday for membership in the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization. It said he had been arrested in 1983, 1989, 2002 and 2005 for membership in the group but freed each time, only to take up his efforts on behalf of the group each time. He was last detained in 2007 and sentenced to death, IRNA reported.
In a statement Tuesday, the Mojahedin said Sarami’s wife and daughter as well as two other supporters were arrested while protesting outside Evin prison after his execution. It said Sarami, 63, has spent a total of 24 years in prison under the monarchy and the Islamic Republic. Though arrested in 2007, his death sentence was handed down only after mass opposition protests in December 2009, the group said.
Meanwhile, the regime called off the planned execution Sunday of a Kurdish student, Habibollah Latifi, accused of membership in the Party for Free Life in Kurdistan (PEJAK). His lawyer had announced the planned execution last week and the New York-based Human Rights Watch launched a campaign on Latifi’s behalf. His lawyer, Nemat Ahmadi, said he was told the execution was called off “for further review of the case,” although it had been under review for years.
The news website of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the political party of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, said Talabani had intervened personally and appealed to Iranian officials to halt the execution.