Shahram Amiri Nuclear Scientist Executed "He Was A Spy"

Working as a nuclear scientist in Iran may just be the most stressful job in the world. One persistent risk is that some variation of the Stuxnet virus will cripple your infrastructure and lead to an uncontrolled nuclear explosion, courtesy of Israeli or US intelligence. A second risk is being blown up (allegedly by the CIA) while driving your car. A third is simply being executed by your employer.

That’s what happened to Iranian scientist Shahram Amiri, who was executed over the weekend after a court convicted him of spying for Washington, a spokesman for the judiciary said on Sunday cited by Reuters. “Through his connection with the United States, Amiri gave vital information about the country to the enemy,” Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said quoted by IRNA.

Amiri, a university researcher working for Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, disappeared during a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia in 2009. He soon resurfaced in the US with a video where he accused the CIA of kidnapping and interrogating him. The US authorities at that time maintained he had defected of his own free will and provided them with “useful information”. He then returned to Iran in 2010 and received a hero’s welcome… before being arrested and was given a long prion sentence. A U.S. official said in 2010 that Washington had received “useful information” from Amiri.

A timeline of his disappearance and reappearance:

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