A Kenyan Newspaper: Two Iranian Nationals Have Been Banned from Leaving After Their Release

A newspaper in Kenya reported that Ahmad Abolfathi Mohammad and Mansour Mousavi, "two members of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran," have been banned from leaving the country following their release order from a court four months ago. The Mombasa-based Nation newspaper referred to the arrest of Ahmad Abolfathi Mohammad and Mansour Mousavi by Kenyan security agencies in the summer of 2012. These two Iranian nationals were sentenced to life imprisonment along with additional sentences of 10 and 15 years in a Kenyan court in 2013, but these sentences were altered in a 2016 appeal court ruling, which annulled the life sentences and reduced their punishment to 15 years. In this context, the Nation reported on Sunday, September 4, that the Kenyan appeal court agreed to the release of Ahmad Abolfathi Mohammad and Mansour Mousavi four months ago, but they have been banned from leaving due to opposition from the government and the prosecution. Ahmad Nasir Abdollahi, the defense attorney for the two Iranian nationals, stated in the appeal court that linking their presence in Mombasa to the discovery of a bag containing explosive materials on a golf course is incorrect and speculative, asserting that they were merely at the location by coincidence. Ahmad Abolfathi Mohammad and Mansour Mousavi arrived at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in the summer of 2012 on a two-week tourist visa, then took a domestic flight to Mombasa, where they stayed at the Royal Castle Hotel, reserved for them by an agency in Tehran for 10 days. However, four days later, they moved to the Laico Regency Hotel in Nairobi, where they stayed for three days. They were arrested by Kenyan anti-terrorism police while heading to the airport to exit Kenya. The Kenyan prosecution cited the discovery of 15 kilograms of the explosive substance "Hexogen RDX" from them, claiming that during their stay in Mombasa, they visited a golf course twice, where this substance was hidden in a large bag on the ground. Kenyan security agencies alleged that one of the detainees had visited this location. In the legal proceedings against the two Iranians detained in Kenya, a chemist testified in the Kenyan court that the explosive material discovered, which was attributed to the two, was one of the most powerful destructive substances that could have destroyed the Times Tower, the second tallest building in Kenya. This explosive had previously been used in several terrorist operations, including the deaths of 186 people in the 2006 Mumbai train bombing and over 40 others in the 2010 Moscow Metro bombing. The Nation also noted that the arrest of the two "secret members of the Quds Force" has deeper layers and added that their mission in Kenya was likely part of Tehran's efforts to take revenge for the killings of Iranian nuclear scientists by Israel. At that time, Iran accused the Israeli Mossad of assassinating these nuclear scientists. Four Iranian nuclear scientists were killed between 2010 and 2012, including Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, who was killed five months before the arrest of Ahmad Abolfathi Mohammad and Mansour Mousavi. Ahmad Abolfathi Mohammad and Mansour Mousavi were arrested four months after the terrorist attacks on Israeli diplomatic missions in New Delhi, India, and Tbilisi, Georgia. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu identified Iran and the Hezbollah group as the perpetrators of these attacks, which occurred in February 2012; an accusation that was denied by Iran and Hezbollah. After the arrest and trial of these two Iranian nationals, Kenyan officials stated that they had detained several Iranians. For instance, Reuters reported that in the fall of 2014, they announced the arrests of Nasrollah Ebrahimi and Abdolhossein Safaei while filming the Israeli embassy with an Iranian embassy vehicle. The driver of the Iranian embassy vehicle was also arrested along with the two. These three denied the accusation of filming the Israeli embassy for "terrorist action." Ultimately, the two Iranians were expelled from Kenya, and the Kenyan driver of the Iranian embassy was released. In this regard, Hadi Farajvand, Iran's ambassador to Nairobi, told Iranian media that the two Iranians are university professors and official attorneys who traveled to Nairobi on behalf of the families of Iranians detained in Kenya for "legal follow-up and consultation" and were released after "clarifying misunderstandings" and answering questions from the Kenyan police. According to Mehr News Agency, the Iranian ambassador expressed "deep regret" over the publication of such news, which he called "false," stating that these two lawyers had traveled to Kenya multiple times.