Kenya’s High Court Upholds 15-Year Prison Sentence for Two Iranians
Kenya’s Supreme Court has upheld a 15-year prison sentence for two “Quds Force members” convicted of planning terrorist operations. The two were initially sentenced to life imprisonment. Iran’s Foreign Ministry summoned Kenya’s ambassador to Tehran in protest.
Kenya’s highest judicial authority, the Supreme Court, has issued a final ruling on two Iranians who were arrested in May 2012 on suspicion of planning terrorist operations in Kenya. The two were sentenced to life imprisonment in the lower court.
Kenya’s The Star news outlet reported that the 15-year prison sentence for “Ahmad Abolfathi” and “Sayed Mansour Mousavi” has been upheld by Kenya’s Supreme Court.
The initial court in 2013 convicted the defendants of terrorist activity in Mombasa and sentenced them to life imprisonment. The appeals court in 2018 reduced Abolfathi and Mousavi’s sentence to 15 years. The two were subsequently released pending final confirmation of the sentence.
According to The Star news outlet, the two must serve the remaining ten years of their sentence in “Kamiti” prison and will then be deported to Iran.
Kenyan authorities stated that Abolfathi and Mousavi carried out covert foreign missions, and their confessions led to the discovery of 15 kilograms of explosives. They were charged with carrying out terrorist attacks in Nairobi, the capital, and Mombasa, Kenya’s second-largest city. The defendants’ defense lawyers previously claimed that their clients were interrogated by Israeli security officers while detained in Kenyan prisons.
In June 2018, it was reported that Islamic Republic officials had attempted to secure the release of the two by “infiltrating key government officials in Kenya.” In February 2019, Kenya’s Director of Public Prosecutions accused Hadi Farajvand, Iran’s ambassador to Kenya, of conspiring with three Kenyan lawyers to help the two Iranian detainees escape.
In response to the court’s confirmation of the sentence for the two individuals in Kenya, Iran’s Foreign Ministry summoned Kenya’s ambassador to Tehran and recalled Iran’s ambassador in Kenya.
The ISNA news agency reported on Sunday, March 17, quoting Bahram Qassemi, spokesman for the ministry: “Ms. Ragia Omari, Kenya’s ambassador to Tehran, was summoned by the Director General of African Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Iran’s objections to the aforementioned ruling were communicated to her. During this meeting, the Director General of African Affairs expressed the Islamic Republic of Iran’s dissatisfaction with the unfair ruling of Kenya’s court and informed the Kenyan side that the Islamic Republic of Iran has recalled its ambassador to Kenya to Tehran for consultation.”
Bahram Qassemi stated that Kenya’s Supreme Court acquitted the two defendants last February, but due to “non-judicial interference in this process, Kenya’s police prevented the execution of the ruling and their return to Iran.” Qassemi added that Kenya’s Supreme Court nullified the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Iran’s ambassador to Kenya has been implicated in efforts to help the detainees escape. Kenya’s police said Hadi Farajvand had paid two individuals who claimed to be officials from the Interior Ministry to help the defendants leave Kenya.
The Star website reported that Iran’s ambassador to Kenya traveled to Nairobi to buy plane tickets for himself, Abolfathi, and Mousavi, but when he realized he had been deceived, he contacted government officials and reported the matter.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry has denied Farajvand’s involvement in this matter and related reports.
Source: DW
