CNN — Alireza Akbari, a dual British-Iranian citizen and former Iranian official, has been sentenced to death in Iran for spying for the United Kingdom, according to Iranian judiciary-affiliated outlet Mizan on Wednesday. Akbari previously served as Iran’s deputy defense minister and was the head of the Strategic Research Institute, as well as a member … Read more
CNN — One of Iran’s best-known actresses, who was arrested after she criticized the execution of a man involved in nationwide protests, was released on bail on Wednesday, state-aligned ISNA said. Taraneh Alidoosti, who starred in the 2016 Oscar-winning film “The Salesman,” had condemned the hanging of Mohsen Shekari, who was killed last month in … Read more
Editor’s Note: A version of this story appears in today’s Meanwhile in the Middle East newsletter, CNN’s three-times-a-week look inside the region’s biggest stories. Sign up here. Abu Dhabi, UAE CNN — It was a rare embrace between one of Israel’s most controversial politicians and an Arab ambassador. Itamar Ben Gvir and the United Arab … Read more
CNN — The Taliban has ordered judges in Afghanistan to fully impose their interpretation of Sharia Law, including potential public executions, amputations and flogging, a move experts fear will lead to a further deterioration of human rights in the impoverished country. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said Afghanistan’s Supreme Leader Alaiqadar Amirul Momineen made the “obligatory” … Read more
CNN — A Singapore court on Tuesday sentenced an OnlyFans creator to three weeks in prison for breaching a police order to stay off the adult subscription site while he was under investigation for allegedly breaking obscenity laws. Titus Low, 22, pleaded guilty to the charge and another count of transmitting obscene material for which … Read more
ISLAMABAD—Pakistan’s top court Monday agreed to hear arguments that a death sentence should be reinstated on the British national accused of orchestrating the kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl after a lower court overturned his conviction earlier this year. The Supreme Court ordered that Omar Sheikh continue to be detained for … Read more
TEHRAN—Iran has executed a wrestler and alleged murderer whose life President Trump had asked the country’s leaders to spare, Iranian state TV reported. “The retaliation sentence against Navid Afkari, the killer of Hassan Turkman, was carried out this morning in Adelabad prison in Shiraz,” the chief justice of Fars province, Kazem Mousavi, said Saturday, according … Read more
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia—A Saudi court reduced the death sentences of five men convicted in the killing of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi to 20-year prison terms and handed shorter sentences to three other nationals, in a case that drove a wedge between Saudi Arabia’s heir-apparent and the West. The public prosecutor declared the case closed nearly … Read more