Iran slams Sweden for turning into base for terrorists
Sweden has turned into a base for anti-Iran terrorists and the Islamic Republic Iran does not tolerate it, said a top rights official.
Kazem Gharibabadi, the Judiciary chief’s deputy for international affairs and secretary of the country’s High Council for Human Rights, made the remarks in an exclusive interview with Mizan News Agency in reaction to the case of a former Iranian official, Hamid Nouri, who has been incarcerated in Sweden since 2019 on false charges leveled against him by the anti-Iran terrorist Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO).
He added the Islamic Republic has called on the Swedish government to expel the terrorists from the country and stop providing them with financial, political and diplomatic supports.
Gharibabadi said Nouri’s rights have been completely violated and his arrest is completely illegal, noting that it took a year for the prosecutors of the case to file charges against him as they did not have any evidence.
Nouri was arrested upon arrival in Sweden at Stockholm Airport in November 2019 and was immediately imprisoned. He has been held in solitary confinement for over two years.
Turning to another similar case, Gharibabadi slammed as contradictory to international and humanitarian law and the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations the arrest of Iranian diplomat Assadollah Assadi in Germany and his 101-day imprisonment under unfavorable circumstances.
He added Assadi has diplomatic immunity, noting that his transfer to Belgium and the court ruling there against him are also in contradiction with international and humanitarian law and the 1963 convention.
Describing Assadi’s court and trial in the European state as “completely illegal and unjust”, Gharibabadi added he had sent a letter to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Monday, requesting her to intervene in the case and hold the two countries accountable for gross human rights abuses against the diplomat.
He said, “We are witnessing numerous human rights violations against Mr. Assadi in Germany and Belgium. It should not have happened. We call for Mr. Assadi’s speedy release and compensation [for mistreating him].”
Gharibabadi added the Islamic Republic has submitted the request at the highest level to Belgian officials and will continue its follow-ups through the Judiciary, the High Council for Human Rights and Foreign Ministry.
Despite enjoying diplomatic immunity, Assadi, who was based in the Austrian capital of Vienna, was arrested on bogus charges while visiting Germany in July 2018.
Nearly three months after his arrest, Assadi was extradited to Belgium where he is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence.
Source: Iran Daily