Judiciary confirms jail term for nuclear negotiating team member
A member of Iran’s nuclear negotiating team arrested recently by the country’s intelligence forces has been sentenced to five years in jail on espionage charges, Iranian Judiciary’s Spokesman Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei confirmed Sunday.
“The conviction of (Abdol-rasool) Dorri Esfahani on charges of spying for foreign intelligence services and leaking information have been upheld,” Ejei said speaking at a press conference in Tehran, Tasnim News Agency reported.
Back in May, the judiciary spokesman had announced that Dorri Esfahani had been sentenced to a prison term, but added that he could not provide details since the verdict could be appealed.
He added that Dorri Esfahani holds a dual citizenship and is convicted on charges of spying for two foreign intelligence services.
According to the media, he has Iranian and Canadian citizenship.
The final verdict was upheld after his case was reviewed by an appeals court, Ejei added.
The news of arrest of the former member of the negotiating team was first announced by the Judiciary spokesperson in August 2016.
Described by the Judiciary spokesman as a spy who had infiltrated into the nuclear team, he was initially released on bail, but now has to serve a five-year prison term.
Iran’s nuclear negotiators and representatives of the P5+1 group of countries – Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany – held several rounds of talks over a period of 22 months before they reached an agree- ment on Tehran’s peaceful nuclear program in July 2015.