UK court finds two Iranian men guilty of spying for Iran
Also reported by Guardian World, BBC Top Stories
Summary
A UK court convicted two Iranian men of spying for Iran after a six-week trial at Woolwich Crown Court. Prosecutors said they surveilled people including journalists in London and that one defendant was willing to carry out a violent attack; a third defendant was acquitted.Key Facts
- Mostafa Sepahvand, 41, and Farhad Javadi Manesh, 46, were found guilty of conduct likely to assist Iran’s intelligence service.
- The people targeted included Iran International journalists Mojtaba Pourmohsen and Kambiz Hosseini, and Jonathan Turner, a founding member of UK Lawyers for Israel.
- Prosecutors said the pair visited addresses linked to targets, took photographs and videos, and used online platforms to research them.
- Prosecutors said Sepahvand was willing to carry out a violent attack against at least one target.
- Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 57, was acquitted on all charges.
- The two convicted men are due to be sentenced at the Old Bailey on December 17.
- The UK outlawed Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in July, with penalties of up to 14 years for people convicted of supporting or assisting it.
Read the Full Article
This is a fact-based summary from The Actual News. Click below to read the complete story directly from the original source.
