Suspect In Iranian Nuclear Scientist Assassination Freed On Bail

One of the suspects who was arrested in relation to the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh has been freed on a bail of 250 billion rials (over $830 thousand). 

Kurdish human rights group Hengaw said on Friday that Jamal Abdollahi, who is accused of helping the perpetrators in the assassination in November 2020 to flee Iran, was "temporarily" released on Thursday after 14 months of imprisonment in one of the security detention centers of the Revolutionary Guard in Tehran.

He was arrested along with his brother in April 2021 and was denied access to a lawyer during the past 14 months. His brother Kamal is still behind bars. 

They are accused of helping some of the perpetrators escape through the border near the city of Baneh in Kurdistan province, but they were never tried over the charges. 

His release comes as the chief of IRGC’s intelligence Hossein Ta’eb was replaced by Mohammad Kazemi, another figure in the outfit, reportedly due to long-simmering opposition by other top security figures.

Iran blames Israel for the assassination of Fakhrizadeh, said to had been Iran’s top nuclear man, in a highly complicated operation east of the capital Tehran involving a remote-controlled one-ton automated weapon that had been smuggled into the country in pieces.

Iran has also accused Israel of sabotage operations against its nuclear facilities including an explosion in April 2021 that inflicted major damage to the Natanz uranium enrichment site.

Israel has never officially taken responsibility for any of these assassinations and sabotage operations but also has never denied involvement.