Trial over Iran 1988 mass murder begins in Sweden
An Iranian official accused of involvement in the 1988 execution of thousands of political dissidents goes on trial in Sweden on Tuesday in a landmark case likely to stoke tensions in the Islamic republic.
Hamid Noury, 60, is accused by Swedish prosecutors of "intentionally taking the life of a very large number of prisoners sympathetic to or belonging to the People's Mujahedin" (MEK) between 30 July and 16 August 1988, while he was assistant to the deputy governor of Gohardasht prison in Karaj, near Tehran.
Human rights organisations have long campaigned for justice for the estimated 5,000 prisoners killed across Iran, allegedly under the orders of supreme leader Ayatollah Khomeini in reprisal for attacks carried out by the MEK at the end of the Iran-Iraq war of 1980-88.
Swedish court officials believe Tuesday's case is the first of its kind against someone accused over the killings.
The allegations were brought to the attention of the Swedish authorities by a group of 30 complainants, as well as justice campaigner and former political prisoner Iraj Mesdaghi.
After compiling an evidence dossier of "several thousand pages" on Noury, Mesdaghi set about luring the former prison official to the Nordic country with the promise of a luxury cruise. Noury was arrested as he stepped onto Swedish soil.
Sweden's principle of universal jurisdiction means that its courts can try a person on serious charges such as murder or war crimes regardless of where the alleged offences took place.
"This is the first time that one of the persecutors has been held accountable in another country," Mesdaghi told AFP.
Noury "denies any accusation of involvement in the alleged executions of 1988," his lawyer Thomas Soderqvist told AFP.
