Esmail Baghaei, spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, stated that Mohammad Abedini Najafabadi, who had been detained in Italy, has returned to Iran following his release.
Abedini Najafabadi was arrested in Italy for violating U.S. sanctions against Iran by transferring drone technology to the country. He was scheduled to be extradited to the United States.
On Sunday, January 12, Italy announced that Carlo Nordio, the Minister of Justice, had submitted a request to the Milan Court of Appeals to cancel the detention of Mohammad Abedini Najafabadi.
Under Italian law, courts are obligated to comply with the Justice Minister’s request.
This move by the Italian Ministry of Justice came just four days after the release of Cecilia Sala, an Italian journalist detained by the Iranian government.
Ms. Sala had officially traveled to Iran with a journalist visa and had published reports about recent developments in Iran following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria.
Some media outlets, citing a U.S. State Department spokesperson, reported that the detention of the Italian journalist by the Iranian regime was a retaliatory act for the arrest of Mohammad Abedini Najafabadi, an Iranian-Swiss citizen, in Italy.
The Italian Ministry of Justice stated in a declaration that under Article 2 of the extradition treaty between the United States and Italy, only crimes punishable under the laws of both countries can lead to extradition, and this condition, based on current documents, is not met.
The statement further explains that the U.S. accusation against Abedini Najafabadi of criminal conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not align with any crimes classified under Italian law.
Regarding the two other charges—”criminal conspiracy to provide material support resulting in death to a terrorist organization” and “providing or attempting to provide material support resulting in death to a foreign terrorist organization”—the Ministry of Justice stated that no evidence has been presented to substantiate these claims.
According to the statement, the existing evidence only indicates that Abedini Najafabadi, through companies he worked with, was responsible for producing and trading “technological tools with potential but not exclusive military applications” with the Iranian government.
In recent years, Iranian security forces have detained dozens of foreign and dual nationals, mostly on charges of espionage and security-related offenses.
Human rights groups accuse the Iranian regime of “hostage-taking” to gain political leverage over other countries. The Iranian government denies these allegations.
