Swedish court sentences Iranian to life in jail over terrorist MKO charges

A Swedish court has sentenced Hamid Nouri, an Iranian citizen detained on baseless accusations brought by the terrorist MKO group, to life imprisonment.

The ruling which was announced in a press conference on Thursday accuses Nouri of participating in what they called killing jailed dissidents.

The court, which was described by Iran as illegal in the first place, convicted Nouri of war crimes and crimes against humanity based on allegations leveled against him by Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO) terrorists.

His accusers allege Nouri was involved in the execution and torture of MKO members in 1988. Nouri has vehemently rejected the allegation.

Nouri was arrested upon arrival in Sweden at Stockholm Airport in November 2019 and was immediately imprisoned.

Swedish prosecutors had requested the maximum penalty of life imprisonment for Nouri.

Tehran slammed his detention and trial as “illegal,” calling for his immediate release.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran considers the detention and trial of Hamid Nouri, an Iranian citizen, illegal and demands his immediate release,” Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told his Swedish counterpart Ann Linde in early May.

“It is a source of regret that a terrorist group, whose crimes against the people of Iran and even Iraq during the [former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s] Ba’athist regime are clearly evident, has taken over this sham process in Sweden,” the minister said.

The MKO has carried out numerous assassinations and bombings against Iranian statesmen and civilians since the 1979 victory of Iran’s Islamic Revolution.

Its members fled Iran in 1986 to Iraq, where they enjoyed backing from Saddam Hussein.

Out of the nearly 17,000 Iranians killed in terrorist assaults since the Islamic Revolution, about 12,000 have fallen victim to the MKO’s acts of terror.

The anti-Iran cult was on the US government’s list of terrorist organizations until 2012. Major European countries, including France, have also removed it from their blacklists.

Human rights violations against Nouri

Meanwhile, Sweden has also failed to secure basic human rights principles with regard to Nouri as he has been held in solitary confinement in the past 32 months.

Secretary of Iran’s High Council for Human Rights Kazem Gharibabadi had condemned the act as a “disgrace” in the history of human rights in Sweden.

Furthermore, despite numerous calls, Nouri has also been prevented from visiting an ophthalmologist despite worsening eye problem.

He has also been barred from meeting his wife and daughter, who have travelled to see him.

“Although my mother and sister have traveled to Sweden to visit him, Swedish authorities have not allowed any meetings between them,” Nouri’s son said on July 10.

Hamid Nouri, himself, had also criticized the inaction of human rights groups with regard to his condition in the Swedish prison.

“No human rights organization has come to me or is following up on my case,” Nouri lamented while having a short phone conversation with his family members.

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