Iran to Kick off Trial of Iranian-Swedish Opposition Figure

Ahvaz activist Habib Chaab during an interview with Iranian television last year. (ISNA)
Ahvaz activist Habib Chaab during an interview with Iranian television last year. (ISNA)
TT

Iran to Kick off Trial of Iranian-Swedish Opposition Figure

Ahvaz activist Habib Chaab during an interview with Iranian television last year. (ISNA)
Ahvaz activist Habib Chaab during an interview with Iranian television last year. (ISNA)

The trial of an Iranian-Swedish dissident held in Iran on security charges for over a year will kick off on Tuesday, the judiciary said.

Habib Chaab, also known as Habib Asyud, went missing during a visit to Turkey in October 2020 and a month later appeared in a video, broadcast by Iranian state television, making confessions.

Human rights groups condemn such confessions, describing them as "coercive," accusing the Iranian authorities of forcing them under torture.

Chaab's trial comes as tensions grew between Iran and Sweden following the prosecution of former Iranian official Hamid Nouri, who is on trial in Stockholm over alleged involvement in 1988 executions.

"The first hearing in the case of Habib Farjollah Chaab, also known as Habib Asyud, the leader of the terrorist group ASMLA, opens tomorrow (Tuesday) before Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court," the judiciary's Mizan Online agency said.

Chaab is accused of "planning and carrying out several terrorist acts, including bomb attacks in Khuzestan province," the agency said.

Last November, the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahvaz (ASMLA) said the authorities wanted to obtain false confessions from Chaab to execute him, noting that it ultimately rejected all the accusations against him.

ASMLA also revealed that Chaab was subjected to "physical and psychological torture."

Chaab's family, who resides in Sweden, denies the accusations.

Stockholm said it had not been granted consular access to Chaab, who lived in exile in Sweden, where he received citizenship.

In December 2020, Turkey arrested 11 people suspected of spying and kidnapping Chaab on behalf of Iran.

It is believed that Chaab was kidnapped in Istanbul before being taken to Van, on the Iranian border, before he was handed over to authorities in Tehran, according to Turkish police.



Biden Reaffirms Support for Weapons Surge to Ukraine after Russia’s Christmas Attack

US President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC, US, December 10, 2024. (Reuters)
US President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC, US, December 10, 2024. (Reuters)
TT

Biden Reaffirms Support for Weapons Surge to Ukraine after Russia’s Christmas Attack

US President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC, US, December 10, 2024. (Reuters)
US President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC, US, December 10, 2024. (Reuters)

US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday he had asked the Defense Department to continue its surge of weapons deliveries to Ukraine, after condemning Russia's Christmas Day attack on Ukraine's energy system and some of its cities.

Russia attacked Ukraine on Wednesday with cruise and ballistic missiles, as well as drones, Ukraine said. The strikes wounded at least six people in the northeastern city of Kharkiv and killed one in the region of Dnipropetrovsk, the governors there said.

Nearly three years into the war, Washington has committed $175 billion in aid for Ukraine, but it is uncertain if the aid will continue at that pace under Republican President-elect Donald Trump, who replaces Biden on Jan. 20. Trump has said he wants to bring the war to a swift end.

"The purpose of this outrageous attack was to cut off the Ukrainian people's access to heat and electricity during winter and to jeopardize the safety of its grid," Biden, a Democrat, said in a statement.

Keith Kellogg, Trump's pick for special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, also criticized Wednesday's attack.

"Christmas should be a time of peace, yet Ukraine was brutally attacked on Christmas Day," Kellogg said. "The US is more resolved than ever to bring peace to the region."

During the presidential election campaign, Trump questioned the level of US involvement in the conflict, suggesting European allies should bear more of the financial burden. Some of his fellow Republicans - who will control both the House of Representatives and Senate starting next month - have also cooled on sending more aid to Kyiv.

This stance - despite previous strong support in the US Congress for sustained or expanded support for Ukraine - has raised concerns among Ukraine's supporters about the future of US assistance under Trump.