Continuation of Dual National Detention Project; 20-Year Prison Sentences Issued for Masoud Mousavib and Shahram Shirkhani on Espionage Charges

As the situation of detained and imprisoned dual nationals in Iran remains highly concerning, the regime has now announced the arrest of a larger number of dual nationals and the issuance of lengthy sentences for several others.

Gholam-Hossein Ismaili, spokesman for the Judiciary, announced on Tuesday, August 21, that “recently four or five arrests” of dual nationals have occurred, stating that two other individuals have been tried and each sentenced to 10 years in prison. He announced that Masoud Mousavib, secretary general of the Iran-Austria Friendship Association, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges of “actions against national security” and espionage for foreign countries, and another dual national named Shahram Shirkhani has also been sentenced to 10 years in prison on similar charges.

This comes as there has been no prior disclosure of the arrest and trial details of these individuals, and given the absence of fair trial procedures in Iran and previous measures by the Islamic Republic to arrest dual-national citizens on espionage charges for the purpose of extorting other countries, it appears that these two have also faced these repeated allegations.

On the other hand, in December of last year, an informed source told Voice of America that the charges against Masoud Mousavib, a 73-year-old Iranian-Austrian businessman, “are completely fabricated” and he has not even had access to a defense attorney.

The Iranian regime has intensified the detention of foreign nationals and dual nationals in recent years. The U.S. State Department has repeatedly condemned the arbitrary and unwarranted detention of American citizens and nationals of other countries, including dual-national Iranians, by the Islamic Republic regime, and has called for their immediate and unconditional release.

Source: Voice of America