Iranian stands trial in Sweden for alleged 1980s war crimes

An Iranian citizen accused of committing war crimes and murder during the final phase of the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s has gone on trial in Sweden.

Hamid Noury has been in custody in Sweden for almost two years and is accused of having played a leading role in the alleged government-ordered execution of political prisoners at the Gohardasht prison in Karaj, Iran, in 1988. His trial, which began in the Stockholm District Court on Tuesday, marks the first time anyone has been brought before a court to stand trial for the purge.An estimated 5,000 political prisoners were allegedly executed across Iran at the end of its bloody conflict with neighbouring Iraq. Under Swedish law, courts can try Swedish citizens and other nationals for crimes against international law committed abroad. Noury, 60, has denied the accusations levelled against him. His trial is expected to run until April 2022. Alleged executions

According to Swedish authorities, Noury worked as a prosecution official at the Gohardasht prison when a large number of executions took place there between July 30 and August 16, 1988.

He is suspected of involvement in the execution of prisoners who belonged to or sympathised with the exiled People’s Mujahidin Organisation of Iran (MEK) opposition group, outlawed as a “terrorist” group by Iran, as well as the murder of other jailed dissidents. The killings at the Gohardasht prison and elsewhere in Iran were allegedly ordered by the founder of the modern Islamic republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, after Iranian forces blunted a surprise 1988 assault by the MEK launched from Iraq...................