A Dutchman of Iranian origin, Abdullah al-Mansouri, has been sentenced in Iran to 30 years in prison according to the Dutch government, or 11 according to his lawyer. The Dutch Foreign Ministry says he stood trial on charges of terrorism, but his lawyer Dadkhah says it was for the lesser crime of anti-government propaganda. Mr al-Mansouri, a human rights activist, fled to the Netherlands in 1988 and has both Dutch and Iranian citizenship. He was arrested while touring Syria in 2006 and extradited to Iran.
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Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen says the Netherlands will continue to lobby on his behalf. Since Mr al-Mansouri's arrest, the Dutch government repeatedly called on Iran to ensure that Mr al-Mansouri received a fair and open trial.
Mr Verhagen said in a statement that The Hague has questions about the way the trial was conducted. The Dutch were not allowed to provide consular assistance to Mr al-Mansouri, he said. Iran is refusing to recognise his Dutch nationality.
Mr Verhagen said the Dutch ambassador in Tehran had been told Mr al-Massouri can appeal the verdict.
Arabic minority
Abdullah al-Mansouri was wanted in Iran for his leadership of the Ahwaz Liberation Organisation (ALO), which is fighting for greater autonomy for an Arabic minority in southwestern Iran. In 2007 the Iranian ambassador in the Netherlands told journalists that Tehran views Mr al-Mansouri as a terrorist. The Dutch Iranian was alleged to have been involved in attacks on a bridge and an oil installation.
Before fleeing to the Netherlands, Mr al-Mansouri was sentenced to death in 1988 by a military court in Iran for resisting the government.
| Ahvaz is an oil-rich region near the Persian Gulf in the Iranian province of Khuzestan. According to the Maastricht branch of Amnesty International, of which Abdullah al-Mansouri is a member, the Ahvaz people are persecuted by the Iranian authorities, as has been doumented by Amnesty and the United Nations. For example, they are forced to register a Persian name because Arab names are not legally recognised in Iran. |
Tags: Abdullah al-Mansouri, Ahvaz, Iran, Maxime Verhagen, oil