Iran to take Sweden to ICJ due to wrongful conviction of Hamid Nouri
TEHRAN- Iran will submit a protest with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Sweden’s judiciary for unlawfully prosecuting and putting former official Hamid Nouri in life jail, according to the chairwoman of the Human Rights Committee of the Iranian parliament.
Zohreh Elahian made the comments on Sunday, just a few days after Nouri, who was detained in 2019 on false charges of violating human rights, was given a life sentence by the Stockholm Court of Appeals.
“By this ruling, the Swedish judicial system showed that it is strongly influenced by the propaganda of the Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO) terrorist group and that it issued a life sentence based on the cult’s baseless complaint,” she said.
“Nouri’s family reserves the right not to recognize the verdict issued by the Swedish National Court due to its non-compliance with legal standards, to lodge a complaint with international conventions, and to pursue the case at the ICJ.”
The ICJ, situated in The Hague, is the highest court of the United Nations that handles disputes between governments. Its decisions are final, even if it lacks the authority to carry them out.
The Iranian representative also stated that Sweden’s “lies” about being among the freest nations in the world are exposed by Nouri’s 50-month solitary prison sentence, which was based on the false testimony of MKO terrorists in a “show and pre-planned trial.”
Elahian went on to add that the Swedish government and judicial system deprived Nouri as a prisoner of his most basic right to choose a lawyer and did not grant a visa to witnesses called by public defenders.
Witnesses were also unable to present in court by video link due to the court’s last-minute approval.
She also chastised the Swedish government for putting immigrants under unlawful pressure and discriminating against them, as well as blocking their opinions from being heard in the media.
Nouri was detained and imprisoned upon arriving at Stockholm Airport in November 2019.
The former Iranian judicial official was put on trial on baseless claims made by elements of the MKO terrorist group, which has publicly boasted about carrying out terrorist operations against Iranian officials and citizens thought to be "regime" supporters.
The terrorist group erroneously alleged that Nouri was engaged in the death and torture of MKO members in 1988, which he has categorically denied. Nouri was sentenced to life in prison by a Swedish court in July.
The court, which Iran called unlawful in the first place, found Nouri guilty of “war crimes and crimes against humanity” based largely on charges made by MKO terrorists living in exile throughout Europe.