British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called Iran’s execution of its former deputy defense minister Alireza Akbari, who also had British nationality, “ a callous and cowardly act, carried out by a barbaric regime with no respect for the human rights of their own people.” Tehran confirmed the execution of Akbari, who was found guilty of spying for the United Kingdom, on Saturday, but it was unclear when it actually took place. Iran’s rulers had “no respect for the human rights of their own people,” Sunak also said, while British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly warned that Akbari’s execution would “not stand unchallenged.”
Akbari, who was arrested in 2019, served as deputy defense minister during the term of former Iranian reformist president Mohammad Khatami. His family said last week that they had been told to make a “final visit” to his jail and that he had been moved to solitary confinement.
The former minister had denied the charges against him, saying he was drugged and tortured into making a confession. He was the fifth person Iran has executed since December. The four others were hanged for involvement in what the Iranian regime called violence related to the protests that began in September 2022.