Iran brings formal charges against UK embassy official

A British embassy employee is to stand trial in Tehran for "acting against national security" — a dramatic escalation in Iran‘s campaign to blame Britain for protests against disputed election results.

The man, a 44-year-old Iranian who is the British embassy’s chief political analyst, was arrested on Saturday and has been formally charged at Tehran’s Evin Prison, his lawyer, Abdolsamad Khorramshahi, said. "Apparently he will be put on trial. We have prepared and submitted the defence documents and I have to see the judge next week."

It was is not clear whether any other embassy staff will face prosecution. A senior cleric claimed that some had "confessed" to playing a role in the protest movement. The staging of political trials is likely to lead to a breach in relations not only with Britain, but also with the European Union. Iranian ambassadors were summoned to foreign ministries in capitals across Europe in a coordinated rebuke .

The analyst is one of two Iranian staff of the British embassy still being held for allegedly playing a role in the protests that followed the official victory in last month’s presidential elections of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Seven other staff members have been released from detention in recent days but warned they could face further legal proceedings. Earlier in the day Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, head of a highly influential body of clerics, the Guardian Council, claimed that some embassy employees had "confessed" to playing a role in post-election demonstrations, and would be prosecuted.

Source/Full Story: The Guardian

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