TEHRAN: Iranian media confirmed on Thursday that Abbas Edalat, a British-Iranian scientist and peace campaigner, has been arrested for his alleged role in an “infiltration network.”
“Recently, members of an infiltration network affiliated to Britain have been arrested,” an unnamed source told the Fars news agency, which is considered close to the powerful Revolutionary Guards.
The report named Edalat, a professor of computer science and mathematics at Imperial College in London.
Britain said earlier it was “urgently seeking information” from Iran following reports of the academic’s arrest.
Edalat was detained on April 15, according to the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI).
He founded the Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran, which describes itself as “an independent campaign organization with the purpose of opposing sanctions, foreign state interference and military intervention in Iran.”
CHRI said Edalat was arrested by the Revolutionary Guards and that he had refused to post bail on Wednesday, arguing that he was innocent and should be released unconditionally.
The group said Edalat’s home in Tehran had been raided and his computer was confiscated, as well as CDs and notebooks.
“We are urgently seeking information from the Iranian authorities following reports of the arrest of a British-Iranian dual national,” a Foreign Office spokeswoman said.
CHRI said 30 dual nationals have been arrested in Iran, primarily on spying charges, since the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
The most high-profile British case is that of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a Thomson Reuters Foundation employee who was arrested two years ago and is serving a five-year sentence for alleged sedition.
Another Imperial College scientist, Kaveh Madani, was forced to leave Iran and quit his job as deputy head of the government’s environment agency earlier this month following pressure from hard-liners.
He later said he had been placed under unauthorized surveillance from the moment he returned to Iran in September.
Iran media confirms arrest of British-Iranian scientist
Iran media confirms arrest of British-Iranian scientist
Syrian authorities arrest more Daesh members in Damascus Governorate
- Multiple explosive devices, various weapons seized in Jadidat Al-Shaybani, village in Barada Valley
LONDON: Syrian authorities have arrested members of a Daesh cell in the Damascus Governorate as they intensify efforts to protect national security.
The Syrian Arab Republic’s Ministry of Interior announced on Tuesday that two members of a cell had been arrested — along with the seizure of multiple explosive devices and various weapons — in Jadidat Al-Shaybani, a village located in the Barada Valley.
The news follows Monday’s capture of two members of Daesh, who are accused of being behind the deadly bombing of a mosque in an Alawite area of Homs in December.
The Ministry of Interior announced the arrest of “Ahmed Attallah Al-Diab and Anas Al-Zarrad, who belong to the Daesh terrorist organization and are responsible for the bombing that targeted the Imam Ali bin Abi Talib Mosque in the Wadi Al-Dahab neighborhood (of Homs).”
