Iranian woman to be executed for alleged ties with Israel
Local media report one woman, three men to receive death sentences for involvement in Shiraz mosque blast, 'connections with Zionist regime'
Aside from this woman, whose name was not released, three other Shiraz residents arrested in this case will be executed.
According to the report in Iran, 25 people were arrested for alleged involvement in a blast that took place at a Shiraz mosque on April 12, while a religious ceremony was being conducted by a local sermonizer.
The explosion took 14 lives, and dozens of other worshippers were injured.
A month after the incident, the Iranian president blamed Israel, the United States and Britain for involvement in the blast.
“These three countries announced that they plan on attempting to kill Iranian elements and a short time afterwards, the blast occurred in Shiraz,” Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying in the Iranian official news agency, IRNA.
According to him, “due to the calculated effort made by Iranian intelligence officials, the people who caused this blast were arrested quickly and admitted their connection to the Zionist regime, America and England.”
This is not the first time Iranian civilians were accused of ties with Israel. On Sunday, an Iranian newspaper reported that seven people of the Bahai faith were arrested and admitted to organizing illegal activity and receiving instruction from Israel and other countries.
The report said that the seven, who are most likely leaders in the Bahai community and arrested in May, tried undermining the Islamic rule in the country.
Just a little over a month ago, an Iranian citizen was sentenced to death for spying for Israel. The accused, a 43-year old Muslim from Tehran named Ali Ashtari, was arrested a year and a half ago by the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and according to the Iranians, admitted he was guilty in court.
It should be noted that the Iranians are known for the severe pressure they inflict on their suspects to admit to the accusations ascribed to them, using “announcements” for propaganda.
Lately, Iran has magnified its efforts to prevent attempts to spy on its territory and has expressed so publicly in order to deter its citizens from being enticed to spy.
