Stockholm: An Iranian national was convicted of serious war crimes and murder during the closing stages of the 1980 Iran-Iraq war and sentenced to life imprisonment by a Swedish court on Thursday.
According to the Stockholm District Court, Hamid Nouri participated in serious atrocities while serving as deputy prosecutor's assistant at Gohardasht prison outside Karaj, Iran, between July and August 1988.

In Sweden, a life sentence usually carries a minimum of 20 to 25 years in prison, although it can be extended. Nuri will be expelled from Sweden if he is eventually freed.

The court said that Nuri, 61, had "the role of a deputy prosecutor's assistant" in prison and was "jointly and in collusion with others" of "several political prisoners in Iran" in the summer of 1988.

Russian President Putin set to visit Iran next week

US failed to take initiative in Doha nuclear talks: Iran

According to the court, the action was deemed a serious offense against international law. The second round of executions targeted left-wing sympathizers who were believed to have renounced their Islamic faith, the court statement said. It is believed that these acts are regarded as murder.

He claimed that the then Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Khomeini had ordered the execution of all prisoners in the country who supported and remained loyal to the Iranian opposition movement Mujahideen-e-Khalq (MEK).

Swedish prosecutors claimed that as a result of that order, between July 30 and August 16, 1988, several prisoners were put to death at Göhrdstad Prison.

Noori has maintained her innocence during the proceedings of the hearing that ended on May 4.

According to Judge Tomas Zander, Nouri claimed that the Mujahideen had mistakenly accused him of participating in a fabricated program for political gain and fabricated evidence against him.

But according to Zander, nothing significant has emerged that casts doubt on the validity and rigor of the investigation.

The verdict comes at a difficult time for relations between Stockholm and Tehran. In recent months, several Europeans were detained in Iran, including a Swedish tourist, two French nationals, a Polish scientist and others.

The detainees questioned whether Iran intended to use the detainees to force the United States and European countries to lift sanctions imposed on it as part of the breakup of a 2015 nuclear deal with major powers. .

Iran and the international community reached an agreement in 2015, known as the nuclear deal, in which Tehran significantly reduced its uranium enrichment in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. Since Donald Trump was the President of the United States, the country has unilaterally abandoned the agreement. Vienna talks to revive the agreement have been on a "pause" since March.

When Noori arrived in Stockholm in November 2019, she was detained and has been in custody ever since. According to the Swedish news agency TT, he was lured to Sweden under the assumption that he would go sightseeing, meet women and attend parties.

Swedish courts may, in accordance with international practice, try certain crimes committed abroad if suspects live or are located in Sweden.