Mostafa Sepahvand, 41, and Farhad Javadi Manesh, 46, were found guilty on Thursday of aiding an Iranian intelligence operation targeting journalists based in Britain. Following a six-week trial at London’s Woolwich Crown Court, the men were unanimously convicted of engaging in conduct likely to assist a foreign intelligence service under the National Security Act.
The court also convicted Sepahvand of carrying out surveillance and reconnaissance with the intent to commit serious violence. A third defendant, Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 57, was acquitted of all charges and discharged. The prosecution’s case centered on the monitoring of dissident reporters, including staff from the Iran International network.
