Iranian accused by Tehran of being Israeli spy confessed because regime threatened niece

Yahoo

a day ago

Hossein Shanbehzadeh was tortured and had death threats issued against his niece during interrogations, an informed source said.
Hossein Shanbehzadeh, an Iranian national arrested in Ardabil last year over allegations he was working as a spy for Israel, confessed to the charges only because the Islamic regime threatened to harm his 6-year-old niece, informed sources told BBC Persian earlier this week.
After being taken by Tehran's security forces while enjoying lunch, Shanbehzadeh was tortured and had death threats issued against his niece during the interrogation, the source said.
After being arrested with his hands up and calmly surrendering to the police, the unidenified source told BBC Persian that several officers 'severely beat him and cursed him. After much beating, they put him in a car and asked for his mobile phone password, but he resisted at first. The person sitting in front punched him in the head and face. When one of them said, 'Bring the electric shocker,' he stopped resisting and wrote down his mobile phone password on a piece of paper with his hands that were shaking from the beating."
The security forces then allegedly posted several pre-prepared posts on his social media.
Once transferred to prison, he was said to have spent 24 days and nights in solitary confinement and was repeatedly stripped in front of officers.
Interrogaters reportedly claimed that some of the social media accounts he had interacted with were Mossad agents and he was consequently charges with being a "spy,' "collaborating with hostile states" and "propaganda activities in favor of the Zionist regime," as well as "insulting the sanctities, the founder of the Islamic Republic, and the Leader of the Revolution."
He has since been sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment. The source claimed he was forced to waive his right to appeal, while his lawyer told Sharq News Agency that there was no evidence he was working with Jerusalem.
The source added that the interrogator had threatened Shanbehzadeh with the death penalty under allegations he had insulted an Islamic prophet. The source said Shanbehzadeh had no knowledge of the chats that authorities referenced.
He was allegedly then later told by another interrogator that if he refused to confess during an interview on television, "the group of Imam Hussein's Madmen would kill your six-year-old niece."
'Hossein said that although he did not take his promise seriously, his promise brought to mind the image of Karun Hajizadeh's bloody body, which is why he said that even if the interview led to his execution, he would accept it,' the source said. 'Two foul-mouthed reporters were present during the television interview, and the interrogator dictated everything and even asked Hossein to say that if he made any mistake next time, they would execute him. He said that he was ready to kill Jesus Christ or even behead a leader, but the madmen of Imam Hussein should stop killing my six-year-old child."
Hajizadeh was a 9-year-old boy murdered in Kerman in September 1998, along with his father.
Now known as 'Prisoner of the Dot,' over a period with which he had replied to Ayatolla Khameini's X post, Shanbehzadeh's case has seen wide attention. His single-character X post received double the number of likes that Khameini's did.
While the Prisoner of the Dot was said to have been initially charged with "propaganda against the regime' by the Evin Prosecutor's Office, Iranian media quickly changed the story and accused him of working on behalf of the Mossad.
Shanbehzadeh's family denies the latter charge, noting that his use of his real identity on social media would make him an ineffective spy.
"The claim that Hossein has absconded is also unjustifiable. He had long ago spoken on X Network (formerly Twitter) about his intention to travel to Ardabil, and even up until an hour before his arrest, he was talking about the city of Ardabil on the same network and posting photos of himself," his family said.
The anonymous source added, "The accusation of espionage was fabricated by the judicial authorities of Ardabil and was given to the Tasnim news agency in an exclusive report."
The report follows the execution of Shanbehzadeh's friend Mohsen Langarneshin, who was also accused of spying for Israel.