Iran executed graduate student Erfan Shakourzadeh on espionage charges, while rights groups said he was tortured into giving false confessions.
Iran on Monday executed a graduate student accused of spying for the CIA and Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, according to Iranian authorities and rights groups.
Erfan Shakourzadeh, 29, was hanged after being convicted of collaborating with foreign intelligence services, Iran’s judiciary news outlet Mizan Online reported. Rights groups said he studied at the Iran University of Science and Technology and denied the allegations before his execution.
According to Hengaw and Iran Human Rights, Shakourzadeh wrote from prison: “I was arrested on fabricated espionage charges and, after eight and a half months of torture and solitary confinement, was forced into a false confession.”
Authorities said he shared sensitive satellite technology information. Rights groups alleged he was tortured and denied a fair defense.
Shakourzadeh is the fifth person executed on espionage charges since fighting involving Iran, the United States and Israel escalated in February.
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