Denmark’s Eastern High Court on Friday upheld the convictions of three Iranians convicted of promoting terrorism and espionage, and sentenced the convicted Iranians to prison terms.
Three Iranian men believed to be members of the Arab Movement for the Liberation of Ahvaz were arrested in February 2020 in connection with a deadly attack on a military parade in the Iranian city of Ahvaz in September 2018. It was done. They were arrested at Ringstead. , a town on the outskirts of Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark.
The men appeared in Roskilde District Court in February 2022 and were found guilty of financing and attempting to finance terrorism, as well as gathering intelligence on individuals and organizations in military matters in Denmark and Iran. and subsequently provided that information to Saudi Arabia. intelligence agency.
On January 9, the Eastern High Court confirmed the Roskilde court verdict, unanimously finding all three men guilty of espionage. However, the jury was not unanimous on the charge of promoting terrorism. Two jurors voted to acquit all three defendants, while other jurors and the judge upheld the guilty verdicts. According to the high court’s voting procedures in jury trials, a defendant is found guilty if at least two judges and at least six jurors vote in favor. There are a total of nine jurors and three court judges.
Questions in court on Friday concerned both punishment and sentencing and deportation. Furthermore, as one of the three defendants had Danish nationality, there was also the issue of deprivation of citizenship. Prosecutors asked for this to be revoked.
The court on Friday sentenced the men to six, seven and eight years in prison. Those defendants who had citizenship will be stripped of their citizenship, and all three defendants will be permanently exiled from Denmark.
Danish authorities have not yet released the names of the defendants involved. According to a statement on the Eastern High Court’s decision, this is “due to security considerations related to the state’s relationship with foreign powers and to individuals.” The litigation related to this case has largely ended.
Danish authorities have confirmed that the defendants will serve their sentences in Danish prisons, but it is unclear when they will be deported.