Iran’s foreign ministry dismissed the verdict as “political”. Tehran “strongly condemns this political statement, which consists of making unfounded and fabricated accusations against Iran and its judicial system, along with the life sentence against Hamid Noury”, Iran’s foreign ministry said in a statement. Balkees Jarrah, interim international justice director at Human Rights Watch, a global rights group, said in a statement that the verdict “offers a meaningful moment for survivors and family members of those who were summarily executed by Iranian authorities in the summer of 1988”. “The ruling sends a message to the most senior Iranian officials implicated in these crimes that they can’t remain beyond the reach of justice forever,” she said.
