Iran Human Rights Calls for Strong International Response To Execution of Swedish-Iranian Habib Asyoud

According to the judiciary’s Mizan news agency, Habib Farjollah Chaab, known as Habib Asyoud, an Ahvazi Arab political activist and Swedish-Iranian dual national, was executed on 6 May. The location of the execution has not been specified but it seems that he was executed in a Tehran/Karaj prison.

He was convicted of “efsad-fil-arz (corruption on earth) through forming, administrating and leading a group called the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz, and planning and implementing terrorist operations, and destruction of public property carried out through various operations.”

Habib was denied the right to a fair trial and did not have access to a lawyer of his choice throughout the proceedings.

According to the statement issued by the Judiciary in March, Habib Asyoud “confessed” to several terrorist attacks, including one on a military parade in Ahvaz in 22 September 2018. Given the use of torture to extract confessions by the authorities, such confessions cannot be lawful. He was sentenced to death for charges of efsad-fil-arz (corruption on earth).

Iran Human Rights previously called for a diligent investigation into the kidnapping and extradition of Habib Asyoud from Turkey to Iran by international organisations, and warned of the possibility of his torture and death sentence.

Using dual-nationals as hostages and issuing heavy sentences against them as a way of pressuring other countries, particularly in the West, has become common practice by the Islamic Republic. Doctor and crisis management researcher, Ahmadreza Djalali who is a Swedish dual-national, is also on death row.

Jamshid Sharmahd, a German-Iranian kidnapped from the UAE in July 2020, is also at risk of executionafter being sentenced to death for charges of efsad-fil-arz on 21 February. His sentence was upheld on 26 April

On January 14, British-Iranian Alireza Akbari who was a former government officials in Iran, was executed for charges of efsad-fil-arz for espionage.

Ruhollah Zam, the director of Amad News Telegram channel, was arrested in Iraq in October 2019 and transported to Iran. He was executed on 12 December 2020.