A court in Turkey has handed a life sentence to a man accused in the killing of a former Iranian intelligence operative who exposed alleged corruption in Iran's judiciary and security forces.
Turkish media reported on July 7 that Abdul Wahab Kocak was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Masoud Molavi Vardanjani, who was shot dead in November 2019 in Istanbul.
Vardanjani had repeatedly accused Iran's judiciary and security forces of financial corruption and assassination of opposition figures by publishing documents on his Telegram channel.
Kocak was among 14 defendants who were sentenced in the case on July 6. Three others were sentenced to 15 years, 12 years, and six months, respectively.
A Turkish police report published in March 2020 said Vardanjani had an “unusual profile” and had worked in cybersecurity at Iran’s Defense Ministry before becoming a vocal critic of the Iranian regime.
A senior U.S. administration official said in April 2020 that Washington had grounds to believe that Iran's Intelligence and Security Ministry was directly involved in Vardanjani’s killing.
Iran has denied that any consulate staff had been involved in Vardanjani's shooting death.
Sabah newspaper of Turkey earlier reported that Mohammadreza Naserzadeh, an Iranian diplomat, is accused of handing over fake identification documents to Ali Esfanjani, who is accused of being the mastermind behind the plot to kill Vardanjani.
According to the decision of the Istanbul Court of First Instance, the criminal case of Naserzadeh, an employee of the Iranian consulate in Turkey, along with Ali Esfanjani and Naji Sharifi Zindashti, among the other defendants in this case, will be heard separately.