A British court convicted two Iranian men on Thursday of spying on journalists working for a London-based Persian-language broadcaster. Prosecutors said the case exposed a plot to gather intelligence and potentially carry out serious violence.
Mostafa Sepahvand and Farhad Javadi Manesh were found guilty at Woolwich Crown Court of assisting a foreign intelligence service under the UK National Security Act 2023. Sepahvand was also convicted of conducting surveillance with the intention of committing serious violence against a person in the UK.
The six-week trial revealed the pair had been directed by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to monitor several individuals. Targets included Iran International journalists Mojtaba Pourmohsen and Kambiz Hosseini, a lawyer and a media production professional.
The Crown Prosecution Service presented videos, photographs and text messages. These files showed Sepahvand conducting surveillance outside the homes and workplaces of the targets, with the secondary goal of identifying other journalists connected to the news organisation.
Sepahvand acted as the primary point of contact with handlers in Iran and was promised tens of thousands of pounds for the operation. Manesh assisted by passing along information, photographs and videos.
In one recovered message, Sepahvand asked a contact in Iran for £150,000 to finish the target off once located. Frank Ferguson, head of the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism division, described the operation as a calculated attempt to spy on critics of the Iranian government.
Sepahvand and Manesh were promised rewards to send intelligence back to contacts in Iran, Ferguson said. He added that Sepahvand was willing to go beyond surveillance to commit serious violence before police stopped them.
The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomed the verdicts. Fiona O’Brien, the CPJ regional director for Europe and Central Asia, stated the trial showed the lengths Iran will go to silence journalists.
Iranian journalists operating in exile face continuous online and physical attacks, legal proceedings and harassment of relatives inside Iran. London is a primary hub for such activities, hosting broadcasters such as Iran International and BBC Persian.
Iran International spokesman Adam Baillie expressed gratitude for police vigilance but warned the threat persists. He said the verdicts do not make journalists safer while the Islamic Republic continues its campaign of death threats and violence.
During the same proceedings, Manesh was acquitted of a separate charge of conducting surveillance to facilitate serious violence by others. A third defendant, Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, was cleared of all charges.
