Three Iranian men on trial in London accused of spying on journalists
Three Iranian men are on trial at Woolwich Crown Court accused of spying on London journalists opposed to Iran's government and a UK Lawyers for Israel founder.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Three Iranian men went on trial at Woolwich Crown Court accused of working for a foreign intelligence service and carrying out surveillance in London. All three were born in Iran but were living in London, and they sat in the dock with interpreters as the prosecution opened its case.
Prosecutors say the men carried out reconnaissance and surveillance on London-based journalists who opposed the Iranian government and on a barrister who was a founder member of UK Lawyers for Israel. The jury was told the men do not deny carrying out the reconnaissance and surveillance. Two of them deny knowing who they were working for.
The first defendant, Mustafa Sepervant, says he knew he was working for Iran but did it out of fear of the consequences of refusing. The prosecution said that was an entirely bogus claim. It said he did it for money and to have a criminal conviction for theft in Iran fixed.
Bill Emlyn Jones, KC, for the prosecution, said the main targets were journalists working for Iran International, a Persian-language satellite channel headquartered in London and critical of the Tehran regime. At least two journalists at the channel were targeted for surveillance, and at least one was going to be subject to serious violence, the court heard.
The prosecution told the jury that the defendants were engaged in what was very obviously a form of spying. Iran International broadcasts into Iran and has been declared a terrorist organisation by the Tehran regime. The three men deny all charges.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |
|---|---|
| Only on one channel | |
| Prosecutors said the men targeted London-based journalists opposed to the Iranian government, including Iran International staff, and a barrister who was a founder member of UK Lawyers for Israel; at least two journalists were allegedly surveilled and one allegedly faced serious violence. | |
| The first defendant, Mustafa Sepervant, said he knew he was working for Iran but acted out of fear of refusing; the prosecution rejected that account and said he acted for money and to have a theft conviction in Iran fixed. | |
| Three Iranian men, born in Iran but living in London, went on trial at Woolwich Crown Court accused of working for a foreign intelligence service and spying for the Iranian government. | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
BBC ONE West focused on the opening of the prosecution case at Woolwich Crown Court. It reported the alleged targets, the defendants' partial denials, and the claim that one journalist faced serious violence. The tone was factual and court-led, with no wider political analysis beyond noting Iran International's terrorist designation by Tehran.
- “Three Iranian men have gone on trial in London accused of carrying out surveillance on UK-based journalists who, it's claimed, were being targeted for serious violence.”
- “the men don't deny carrying out the reconnaissance and surveillance, but they deny knowing, but two of them deny knowing who they were working for.”
- “The defendants were engaged in what is very obviously a form of spying, the prosecution said.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.