Yahoo – Iran executes IT expert over alleged espionage for Mossad
Iran’s judiciary has carried out another execution on espionage charges amid a wave of hangings, putting to death IT expert Ehsan Afrashteh on Wednesday, according to the judiciary-linked Mizan news agency.
Afrashteh was accused by authorities of collaborating with Israel’s foreign intelligence service, Mossad.
According to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, Afrashteh was arrested in 2024 upon returning to Iran from Turkey. He was initially held in solitary confinement in Tehran’s Evin Prison.
The Norway-based group Iran Human Rights said Afrashteh, a trained civil engineer who worked in IT and cybersecurity, had realized while in Turkey that foreign intelligence services were exploiting him, citing the account of a fellow prisoner.
Despite this, activists said he chose to return to Iran after his father contacted Iranian security authorities to explain the situation. Afrashteh then surrendered to officials, but was later forced to give a false confession while in custody, according to rights groups.
Iran’s judiciary claimed Mossad had tasked him with documenting potential targets, surveilling the intelligence ministry’s surroundings, attending gatherings and photographing individuals.
Human rights organizations criticize Iran’s extensive use of the death penalty, accusing authorities of using executions as a tool of intimidation. According to Iran Human Rights, at least 1,639 people were executed in the country last year, the highest number in 35 years.
The post Iran executes IT expert over alleged espionage for Mossad appeared first on Human Right Activists In Iran.
