Iran: Exiled journalists still repressed by regime

Two Iranian men, Mostafa Sepahvand and Farhad Javadi Manesh, have been found guilty of spying on UK-based journalists for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. The convictions, made at Woolwich Crown Court, mark the first time Iranian nationals have been convicted under Britain's National Security Act, introduced in 2023 to counter threats from foreign states, including Iran.

The case highlights the continuing and increasing threat to the UK from Iran, according to Senior National Coordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing Vicki Evans. Iran has denied involvement in the spying or any such activity, with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi expressing his disturbance over the arrests. Sepahvand and Manesh were convicted of carrying out surveillance on journalists working for Iran International, a Persian-language television station in London, between August 2024 and March 2025.

Sepahvand was convicted of assisting a foreign intelligence service and a second charge relating to a plan for an attack, while Manesh was convicted of assisting a foreign intelligence service but acquitted of the second charge. Both will be sentenced next month, while a third man, Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, was acquitted of both charges.

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