Iran International
Iran has accused the Stockholm Court of Appeals in Sweden of bias by upholding the life sentence of a former jailor for his role in the 1988 prison killings.
Reiterating the official line that Sweden prosecuted and convicted Hamid Nouri on the basis of false allegation by the exiled opposition group Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK), the official news website IRNA claimed that Sweden has violated Nouri’s human rights. The website reflecting the government's position alleged that Sweden tortured Nouri by keeping him in solitary confinement and “repeatedly moving him between detention centers”, and putting another prisoner with “serious mental issues” in his cell.
The Iranian foreign ministry has not yet reacted to the Stockholm Court of Appeals decision on Tuesday, which came after months of examining evidence and deliberation.
In a statement, 452 Iranian activists and members of victims’ families welcomed the court’s decision, calling it a “huge victory for the Iranian justice movement.” They believe it paves the way for bringing the regime and other violators of human rights to justice in the future.
“Let us remind that in the summer of 1988, Ebrahim Raisi, who is the president of the Islamic Republic with [Supreme Leader Ali] Khamenei’s firm support, was among the members of the death committee, of which Hamid Nouri was an agent,” the statement said.
Nouri, arrested upon arrival in Sweden in November 2019, was convicted by a Swedish court in July 2022 and sentenced to life for human rights violations as a prison official in the 1980s.
Plaintiffs in the case alleged that Hamid Nouri, 61, an assistant prosecutor and a member of the execution committee at Gohardasht Prison near Tehran, played a key role in the torture, execution, and secret burial of thousands of prisoners, including members of the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK) and various Marxist groups, in the summer of 1988. In court, Nouri denied any connection with the executions.
Many, including UN Special Rapporteur on Extra-Judicial Executions Agnes Callamard, called his arrest an "important first step towards justice for the 1988 massacre." This marks the first time someone has been charged in relation to the events that took place in 1988 in Iran and prosecuted in another country.
The execution of thousands of political prisoners, which occurred over a few weeks, is often considered one of the darkest secrets in the history of the Islamic Republic. Many victims, initially sentenced to prison, were executed when they refused to denounce their beliefs.
The regime clandestinely buried victims in unmarked, mass graves. Families were often informed months after the executions and kept unaware of the graves' locations. The regime has prohibited the erection of gravestones at these sites, and family members visiting the mass graves are frequently harassed. Security agents even uproot trees planted by family members to mark the graves.
The decision to purge political prisoners was taken at the highest level and was endorsed by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic. Khomeini's chosen successor, Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri (1922-2009), who protested the massacre and called it a crime against humanity was demoted by Khomeini. Montazeri spent several years under house arrest after Khomeini's death in 1989 for criticizing the new successor, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and questioning his legitimacy.
International affairs and human rights deputy of the Iranian judiciary, Kazem Gharibabadi, in July accused Sweden of taking Nouri “hostage” and demanded his release while alleging that Sweden had no evidence against Nouri and was only defending the interests of MEK.
A Swedish EU diplomat, 33-year-old Johan Niels Floderus who was put on trial in December , and a 52-year-old Swedish-Iranian doctor, Ahmadreza Djalali (Jalali), are currently being held in Iran on charges of spying for Israel. Iranian authorities have several times threatened to execute Djalali, allegedly to force Sweden to release Nouri, and brought charges against Floderus that entail a death sentence.
At the UN Security Council, the UK, France and Germany released a statement in which they stated they “remain determined that Iran must never develop a nuclear weapon and must reverse its nuclear escalation.”
It came on the back of a semi-annual United Nations Security Council meeting on the implementation Resolution 2231, the foundation of Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal (JCPOA) with P5+1 (the five permanent members of the Council -- China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, United States, plus Germany).
The three European parties of the deal -- so-called E3 -- reiterated concerns on Tehran’s developing and testing ballistic missiles, transferring hundreds of drones to Russia, and enriching uranium to an unprecedented 60% level that has no non-military purpose. The Monday session aimed to address Iran’s ongoing violations of the resolution but came to little progress.
Under the JCPOA, Tehran agreed to limit enrichment of uranium to levels necessary for the peaceful use of nuclear power in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.
Referring to a November report by UN’s nuclear watchdog that “starkly outlines the deplorable state of Iran’s commitments under the JCPOA,” they highlighted that the total stockpiles of Tehran's 60% enriched uranium now stand at 22 times the JCPOA limit.
“There is no credible civilian justification for the state of Iran’s nuclear program. The current trajectory only brings Iran closer to weapons-related capabilities; this is of utmost concern for international peace and security,” the E3 warned.
The statement highlighted Iran's lack of cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), hindering the IAEA's essential work in understanding the nature of Iran's nuclear program and undermining global non-proliferation efforts.
“It is especially concerning to see Iran flatly deny to the IAEA its legal obligation to implement Modified Code 3.1,” the E3 noted, referring to a subsidiary arrangement to IAEA safeguards agreement that requires countries to submit design information for new nuclear facilities to the agency as soon as the decision is made to construct, or authorize construction, of any nuclear facility.
Dismissing the charges by Britain, France and Germany, both Iran’s UN Ambassador Amir Iravani and Russia’s Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia blamed the United States’ withdrawal from the JCPOA and Western sanctions for the current standoff. About a year after the US pulled out of the agreement in 2018, Iran began breaking the terms, enriching near weapons-grade levels and restricting monitoring access to the IAEA. Formal talks to try to find a roadmap to revive the JCPOA collapsed in August 2022 with both sides blaming each other for extraneous demands.
At Monday’s council meeting, UN political chief Rosemary DiCarlo stressed that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres still considers the JCPOA “the best available option to ensure that the Iranian nuclear program remains exclusively peaceful.” She said it was essential for Iran to now reverse steps taken since the deal fell apart “that are not consistent with its nuclear related commitments under the Plan and which it has pledged are reversible.”
Counselor John Kelley, from the US mission in the UN, told the council, “Iran should take actions to build international confidence and de-escalate tensions and not continue nuclear provocations that pose grave proliferation risks.” He added that the US is “committed to resolving the international community’s concerns regarding Iran’s nuclear program through diplomacy” but “Unfortunately, Iran’s actions suggest this goal is not its priority.”
Iran’s Iravani said Tehran “has persistently worked toward the revival of the JCPOA” and “stands prepared to resume the full implementation of its commitment on the JCPOA once it is revived.”
UK Ambassador James Kariuki pointed out that Iran is “gaining irreversible knowledge” as it “manufactures and operates thousands of prohibited advanced centrifuges.” He added that “Iran is launching missiles that are capable of delivering nuclear weapons and is testing technologies directly applicable to medium and long-range ballistic missiles, in the form of satellite launch vehicles.” He concluded that Iran’s missile program remains of fundamental concern for the global nuclear non-proliferation, underlining that Iran supplied ballistic missiles to armed groups in Iraq, Yemen and Syria, which are targeting Red Sea shipping and the US-led Coalition personnel in the region.
In June 2022, Iran removed all IAEA JCPOA-related surveillance and monitoring equipment and since March it agreed to put them back on operation, but it has been stonewalling the process ever since. Additionally, Tehran withdrew the designation of several inspectors assigned to conduct verification activities in Iran under the Non-Proliferation Treaty Safeguards Agreement.
