Agil Kashavarz, a 27-year-old architecture student, was executed on Saturday morning in Iran after being convicted of spying for Israel.
Kashavarz was arrested earlier this year in the city of Urmia in northwestern Iran, after a military patrol caught him photographing a military headquarters building. After a brief trial he was sentenced to death, with the court finding him guilty of espionage for Israel and labeling him a Mossad agent.
The judiciary's news agency in Iran, Mizan, announced, "Agil Kashavarz was executed on Saturday morning, after the Supreme Court upheld his conviction on charges of espionage. Kashavarz was accused of carrying out more than 200 missions for Israeli intelligence services across Tehran, Isfahan, Urmia, and Shahroud. Kashavarz knowingly cooperated with Israeli services with the intention of harming the Islamic Republic of Iran."
According to reports, the tasks assigned to Kashavarz included photographing sites, conducting public opinion surveys, and monitoring traffic patterns at specific locations. Iranian authorities alleged that "Kashavarz communicated with the Israeli Mossad and military elements via encrypted messaging platforms, and received payment in cryptocurrencies after completing the missions."
Human rights organizations strongly condemned the execution and alleged that Kashavarz was severely tortured to extract a forced confession. "Kashavarz was sentenced to death on charges of spying for Israel based on confessions extracted under torture," said Iran Human Rights. The organization is based in Oslo to avoid IRGC persecution.
The Kurdistan Human Rights Network also reported that he was tortured for a week at an intelligence detention center of the Revolutionary Guards in Urmia in order to extract a coerced confession.