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Omid Kokabee, a physicist convicted of espionage in Iran, has been granted freedom on parole, his lawyer announced on 29 August. It could be the end of a five-year-long struggle for the Iranian scientist, who has said all along that he was punished for refusing to help a covert nuclear-weapons programme.
Kokabee, who is now 34 years old, was working on his PhD thesis in Spain and in the United States when he was jailed in Tehran in early 2011 while attempting to fly back to the United States after visiting his native country. He was later convicted for "illegal earnings" and "communication with a hostile government", accusations which are tantamount to spying.
Kokabee maintained his innocence and later stated that he had been persecuted for refusing to cooperate with a nuclear military programme in Iran.
[...] In a separate case, Shahram Amiri, another Iranian physicist allegedly related to the country's nuclear programme and accused of espionage, was executed earlier this month in Iran.
http://www.nature.com/news/iran-releases-physicist-after-five-years-in-jail-1.20505
http://www.nature.com/news/the-week-in-science-5-11-august-2016-1.20385
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Friday September 02 2016, @04:10PM
The sad thing is that Mr. Amiri's claims about that are entirely believable. Although I guess that makes the US more compassionate towards Iranian physicists than Israel has been [jpost.com].
"Think of how stupid the average person is. Then realize half of 'em are stupider than that." - George Carlin
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 02 2016, @04:17PM
Ever read "Gideon's Spies [wikipedia.org]"? Marvelous book that shows the ruthlessness of the Mossad and the Israeli government.
While criticized by Daniel Pipes (per wiki article), I encourage you to still read it...
(Score: 2) by Bot on Saturday September 03 2016, @12:29PM
Well, you said Mossad. In my place the heads of the secret service were outed as members of the P2 lodge, who were not exactly sheep. I would consider secret services ruthless by default. Not to excuse Israel, but to give heads up to anybody thinking romantically. The agents might be as selfless as a James Bond, but the organization as a whole is the perfect place for misdeeds.
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