Akbari’s family received “one last visit” with him on Wednesday before he was placed in isolation. Akbari, who was Iran’s deputy defense minister, was arrested in 2019 and convicted of spying for Britain, which he denies.
Britain called on the Iranian regime to suspend the execution. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly wrote on Twitter: “This is a politically motivated act by a barbaric regime with complete disregard for human life.”
This week, the dictatorship posted a video of Akbari in which he appears to be forced to confess to crimes. According to audio recordings obtained by the BBC, he has previously said that he was tortured into confessing to crimes he did not commit.