Habib Chaab, a dual citizen of Sweden and Iran who was found guilty of leading an Arab separatist group accused of attacking, was put to death. In order to voice its opposition to this, Sweden has summoned Iran’s acting ambassador.
The Swedish Foreign Ministry stated in a statement on Saturday that “the death penalty is an inhuman and irreversible punishment and Sweden, along with the rest of the EU, condemns its use under any circumstances.”
Chaab was executed early on Saturday due to his alleged membership in the Harakat al-Nidal rebel organisation, according to the state-run media agency Mizan.
Iran considers Harakat al-Nidal to be a terrorist group.
Mizan claimed Chaab was the leader of Harakat al-Nidal and the suspected mastermind behind the shooting attack on a military parade in Iran’s southwestern city of Ahvaz in 2018 in which 29 people died.
Executions have risen in Iran following a nationwide uprising sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini last September, according to reports released by rights groups.
According to a joint report issued by the Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) and the France-based Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM) groups revealed at least 500 executions were carried out last year – a 75% increase from the previous year.
The increase was Tehran’s way of trying to frighten protesters and prevent dissent, groups said.
Addressing the 2018 incident, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei accused Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates of financing the perpetrators of the attack and threatened to “harshly punish” the masterminds.
UAE Minister of State For Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said the accusations were “baseless” and “official incitement against the UAE in Iran” was “unfortunate.”