Iran hangs former defence ministry official over spy claim
Dubai (AP/PTI): Iran said on Saturday that it had executed a dual Iranian-British national who had once worked for its Defence Ministry, despite an international outcry over his death sentence and those of others held amid nationwide protests.
Iran's Mizan news agency, associated with the country's judiciary, announced Ali Reza Akbari's hanging.
It did not say when it happened. However, there were rumors he had been executed days ago.
Iran had accused Akbari, without offering evidence, of being a spy for Britain's MI-6 intelligence agency. It aired a highly edited video of Akbari discussing the allegations resembling others that activists have described as coerced confessions.
On Friday, State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel criticized Akbari's pending execution.
"The charges against Alireza Akbari and his sentencing to execution were politically motivated. His execution would be unconscionable," she said, "We are greatly disturbed by the reports that Mr Akbari was drugged, tortured while in custody, interrogated for thousands of hours, and forced to make false confessions."
She added: "More broadly, Iran's practices of arbitrary and unjust detentions, forced confessions, and politically motivated executions are completely unacceptable and must end."
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Scindia launches 2 bamboo projects for NE in Guwahati
Guwahati (PTI): Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Sunday launched two key bamboo projects for the northeast in Guwahati, officials said.
On the occasion, MoUs were signed by the North East Cane and Bamboo Development Council (NECBDC) with Amazon, Flipkart and All Time Plastics to improve market integration, and enhance the overall value proposition of bamboo-based enterprises in the region, they said.
One of the projects launched is aimed at strengthening traditional bamboo artisan clusters by enhancing market access, modernising products and linking them with digital and retail ecosystems, the officials said.
The second project pertains to promotion of engineered bamboo products through cluster strengthening and export facilitation in the northeastern region, they added.
