Hamid Nouri's Life Sentence in Sweden Confirmed; Islamic Republic Condemns It; Opponents Express Satisfaction

After the Swedish Court of Appeal confirmed the life sentence of Hamid Nouri, accused of involvement in the mass execution of political prisoners in the 1980s, the Islamic Republic deemed the court's ruling "fundamentally unacceptable" and condemned it strongly. Nasser Kan'ani, the spokesperson for the Islamic Republic's Foreign Ministry, expressed regret over the ruling, claiming that the Swedish court issued such a "destructive verdict" without regard for fair trial standards. He added, "The Swedish judiciary, by siding with terrorist groups, has put the interests of both nations and the long-standing, historical relations of the two countries at risk, but the Islamic Republic will utilize all its capacities and resources to free Hamid Nouri in defense of citizens' rights." The Islamic Republic claims that Hamid Nouri was deprived of basic rights such as the right to contact his family and access to a doctor during his detention, and that he was tortured, allegations that Sweden has rejected. Majid Nouri, Hamid Nouri's son, reacted to the confirmation of his father's life sentence by stating, "The Swedish court has no jurisdiction over this case because the ruling was issued in Swedish, and its translation into Persian takes 45 days." Meanwhile, Prince Reza Pahlavi wrote on his account on "X": "What we witnessed in the handling of Hamid Nouri's case in Sweden is a benefit of a liberal, secular democracy based on human rights and the public good, which should serve as a model for the future of Iran, a democratic and just order where criminals will be held accountable in a transparent court based on the standards of the civilized world, not in one-minute kangaroo courts and illegal massacres like those that occurred after the 1979 disaster." On the other hand, political activist and VOA Tablet program host Masih Alinejad commented on the life sentence for Hamid Nouri, stating, "We neither forgive nor forget; anything else is just a charade and dancing with the murderers of the nation." Ladan Bazargan, from the families of the plaintiffs of the 1988 massacre, reacted to the Swedish Court of Appeal's ruling on Hamid Nouri's life sentence, stating to VOA, "The confirmation of Hamid Nouri's sentence means the end of the era of impunity for the officials of the Islamic Republic." Ms. Bazargan expressed joy over this ruling, adding, "In reading Nouri's verdict, the Swedish court named all the criminals of the 1980s Islamic Republic, including Khamenei and Raisi, and based on this, many officials of the Islamic Republic have become unsafe abroad." Iraj Masdagh, the main plaintiff and follower of Hamid Nouri's case, also told VOA, "The confirmation of Hamid Nouri's sentence is a significant defeat for the Islamic Republic and a victory for justice and the plaintiffs." He added, "The Islamic Republic has been seeking to exonerate Nouri from the beginning to prevent further steps towards the prosecution of other individuals like Ebrahim Raisi, but this ruling has kept the case open and paved the way for the prosecution of other officials of the Islamic Republic." Hamid Nouri, who was known by the alias Hamid Abbasi, a former deputy prosecutor in the Islamic Republic's judiciary, was arrested in November 2019 by a Swedish court. On July 13 of last year, after 93 hearings in the Stockholm District Court, he was sentenced to life imprisonment and ordered to pay compensation to the families of the executed prisoners for complicity in the massacre of prisoners in 1988. The arrest and trial of Hamid Nouri have angered officials of the Islamic Republic and soured relations between Sweden and the Islamic Republic. In April of this year, Iran detained Johan Flodros, a Swedish employee of the European Union's diplomatic service. Masoud Setayesh, the spokesperson for the Islamic Republic's judiciary, announced on Wednesday, November 8, that the case of this Swedish citizen has been sent to court for prosecution.