Iran’s Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence of a Swedish-Iranian citizen, who allegedly led an Arab pro-independence group.
Habib Farayola Chaab was arrested in 2020, after he disappeared in a Turkish airport and was subsequently put on trial in Tehran, on charges of involvement in an attack that killed 25 people and injured 249 in 2018 in the city of Ahvaz, the capital of Khuzestan province in the southwest of the country.
«The court concludes that (Farayola) Chaab’s death sentence is confirmed, final and definitive,» the judiciary’s Mizan agency said on Sunday.
In a video broadcast by Iranian state television, Chaab claimed responsibility for the 2018 attack and admitted to working with Saudi intelligence services.
Chaab’s trial began in late 2022 and his death sentence had not been made public until now.
Sweden’s efforts to offer consular assistance have failed as Iran does not recognise dual nationality.
Iran accuses Chaab of being the leader of the Arab separatist group Harakat al Nidal, which seeks independence for the oil-rich Khuzestan province.
Harakat al Nidal is supported, according to Tehran, by the secret services of its regional enemies, Saudi Arabia and Israel, and is responsible for the deaths of 247 people in terrorist attacks on Iranian soil.
The Ahvaz attack was committed during a military parade organized to mark the 38th anniversary of the start of the Iraq-Iran war (1980-88).
Four extremists opened fire with Kalashnikov rifles from behind the authorities’ rostrum, killing 25 people, including military personnel and civilians, including women and children, and wounding 60 others.
Last week the Iranian judiciary convicted six other alleged members of Harakat al-Nidal for their involvement in other attacks.