A court in Istanbul has sentenced several of the 14 accused of assassinating Iranian dissident Masoud Molavi-Vardanjani on behalf of Iranian intelligence.

In March 2020 Reuters reported that two senior Turkish officials had confirmed that two Iranian intelligence officers at Iran’s consulate in Istanbul had instigated the killing of Molavi-Vardanjani.

The court sentenced Turkish hitman, Abdulvahap Koçak, to life imprisonment for shooting Molavi-Vardanjani in Istanbul’s Sisli neighborhood in November 2019 while he was walking with Ali Esfanjani, an Iranian national who masterminded the assassination.

The court also sentenced Turkish nationals Cengiz Akin to a prison term of fifteen years, Veli Sari to twelve years and Birol Özdemir to six months for assisting in the crime.

Source: Iran International