Iran has executed a British Iranian national.
Ali Reza Akbari was a former Iranian deputy defense minister and had been charged with spying for Britain.
On Saturday, Iran’s Mizan news agency announced Akbari’s hanging death, but it was not clear when the execution took place. He was arrested in 2019.
Amnesty Iran posted on Twitter that Akbari’s hanging displays Iranian authorities’ “abhorrent assault on the right to life. The use of the death penalty is appalling under all circumstances.”
Britain and the United States had urged Iran not to carry out the death penalty.
"This was a callous and cowardly act, carried out by a barbaric regime with no respect for the human rights of their own people," British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak posted on Twitter.
British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly also posted on Twitter, "This barbaric act deserves condemnation in the strongest possible terms. This will not stand unchallenged."
Ambassador withdrawn from Iran
Later, Cleverly announced that Britain would temporarily withdraw its ambassador from Iran. He also summoned Iran's charge d’affaires in the United Kingdom and sanctioned Iran’s prosecutor-general, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri.
France also summoned Iran’s charge d'affaires in Paris on Saturday to express its indignation over Akbari’s execution.
"He was also warned that Iran's repeated violations of international law cannot go unanswered, particularly with regard to the treatment of foreign nationals whom it arbitrarily detains," the French Foreign Ministry said.
The U.S. was "horrified" by Akbari's hanging, according to a U.S. State Department spokesperson.
"We mourn with his loved ones and will continue to hold Iran accountable for its sham trials and politicized executions," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken tweeted of Akbari's death.
The U.S. ambassador to Britain said Saturday the United States condemned the execution of Akbari.
"The United States joins with the U.K. in condemning this barbaric act. My thoughts are with Alireza’s family," Ambassador Jane Hartley said on Twitter.
Earlier this week, BBC Persia aired an audio message from Akbari. He said he had been interrogated and tortured “for more than 3,500 hours” and was forced into confessing to crimes that he did not commit.
'They broke my will'
"By using physiological and psychological methods, they broke my will, drove me to madness and forced me to do whatever they wanted," Akbari said. "By the force of gun and death threats they made me confess to false and corrupt claims."
Akbari’s trial was not open to the public.
Meanwhile, at least 520 protesters have been killed and 19,400 people have been arrested in Iran since Mahsa Amini, 22, died in police custody after her arrest for wearing her headscarf improperly.
Iran has handed down a number of death sentences and has executed at least four people since the protests began following Amini's death on Sept. 16, 2022.
