Iran sentences two ethnic Arabs to death after unrest Mon. 20 Feb 2006

Iran Focus

Tehran, Iran, Feb. 20 – Iran has sentenced to death two men it claims were responsible for twin bombings in the south-western city of Ahwaz in January, the semi-official news agency Fars reported on Monday.

Shiite cleric Dorri Najaf-Abadi, the country’s chief state prosecutor, told reporters in the Iranian capital that seven persons faced charges related to bombings in Ahwaz. He said two of them, who allegedly led the group, had been sentenced to death.

Najaf-Abadi, a former chief of the theocratic state’s secret police, known as the Ministry of Intelligence and Security, did not reveal the identities of the detainees, but dissident activists in Khuzistan Province contacted by telephone said all the prisoners were ethnic Arabs. They accused the government of setting up trump charges against Arab activists fighting against Tehran’s “repressive policies”.

A string of top Iranian officials, including hard-line President Ahmadinejad, have accused Britain of being behind the bombings in Ahwaz. Tehran has repeatedly accused the British secret services of training ethnic Iranian Arabs in southern Iraq and sending them to Iran to carry out sabotage operations.

London has repeatedly denied any involvement in the events in the region.

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