SpaceWar.com - Your World At War
Iran sentences 3 to death over nuclear scientist killing
Tehran, Nov 5 (AFP) Nov 05, 2024
Iran has sentenced three people to death over the 2020 assassination of one of the country's top nuclear scientists, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the judiciary said on Tuesday.

"The judicial processes of these three people were carried out in the Revolutionary Court of Urmia, and they were sentenced to death in the initial stage, and the case is currently in the appeal stage," judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir told a Tehran press conference.

Fakhrizadeh was killed when his car was ambushed on a highway outside the capital in November 2020, in an attack Iran blamed on its sworn enemy Israel.

"After some investigations, three people out of eight arrested in West Azarbaijan province, were accused of committing espionage for the occupying regime of Israel," Jahangir said.

He added that the three are also "accused of transporting equipment into Iran for the assassination of martyr Fakhrizadeh under the guise of smuggling alcoholic beverages".

In December 2022, then judiciary spokesman Massoud Setayeshi said nine people had been charged with the capital offence of "corruption on earth" for their suspected collusion with Israel in the assassination.

Fakhrizadeh had been under US sanctions for his role in Iran's nuclear programme when he was killed.

Iranian authorities said the attackers used a bomb and a remote-controlled machine gun.

Israel has never commented on the killing.

In 2018, the Israeli government accused Fakhrizadeh of leading Iran's efforts to develop an atomic bomb, a claim Iran has always vehemently denied.


ADVERTISEMENT




Space News from SpaceDaily.com
Trump-Musk showdown threatens US space plans
Japanese company aborts Moon mission after assumed crash-landing
Renowned Mars expert says Trump-Musk axis risks dooming mission

24/7 Energy News Coverage
'No doubt' Canadian firm will be first to extract deep sea minerals: CEO
Tabletop particle blaster: How tiny nozzles and lasers could replace giant accelerators
Set it and forget it: Autonomous structures can be programmed to jump days in advance

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
Iran FM warns Europe against 'strategic mistake' at IAEA; Iran obtained 'sensitive' Israeli intel
DOD is investigating Hegseth's staffers over Houthi-strikes chats
Three dead as Ukraine hit with third-straight day of overnight attacks

24/7 News Coverage
Ailing Baltic Sea in need of urgent attention
Money, mining and marine parks: The big issues at UN ocean summit
Solar power farms would impact less than 1 percent of Arkansas' ag land



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.