Iran recalls its envoy to Sweden in protest against ex-official’s verdict

DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran has recalled its ambassador to Sweden in protest against a Swedish court’s life time in prison sentence for a former Iranian official for involvement in the mass execution of political prisoners in 1988 in the Islamic Republic.

On July 14, a Swedish court sentenced Hamid Noury to life in prison for the mass execution and torture of political prisoners at the Gohardasht prison in Karaj, Iran, in 1988.

“In protest against the illegal … verdict issued in Sweden against Hamid Noury, Iran has decided to recall its ambassador for some consultations,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said, according to Semi-official Fars news agency.

Kanaani said the sentence was based on “baseless, distorted and fabricated” accusations.

Noury, 61, who was arrested at a Stockholm airport in 2019, has denied the charges.

Amnesty International has put the number executed in 1988 on government orders at around 5,000, saying in a 2018 report that “the real number could be higher”. Iran has never acknowledged the killings.

Last week, Iranian foreign ministry summoned the Swedish charge d’affaires in Tehran to protest the verdict.

(Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Sandra Maler)