In February, four members of a Europe-based organization that advocates for the rights of the Arab minority in southwestern Iran were arrested in Denmark, accused of terrorism and spying for Saudi Arabia. One of them faces similar charges in the Netherlands as well. To Irina Tsukerman, these appear to be trumped-up allegations against genuine human-rights activists:
Both Denmark and the Netherlands have engaged in lucrative business dealings with Iran and were strong supporters of the [2015 nuclear deal] and opponents of the U.S. withdrawal from the agreement. Both states have built pharmaceutical factories and plants in Iran; in Denmark’s case, an insulin-factory agreement was concluded one day before the arrests of the activists. Both Denmark and the Netherlands [also] pride themselves on their human-rights records, yet they make it exceptionally difficult for refugees and other immigrants to obtain citizenship. This means that three of the four . . . face possible deportation to Iran in the event of their conviction.
Furthermore, [in the summer of 2018], these very same people were dealing with security concerns of their own. Three [of the] Denmark-based activists were targeted by a Norwegian-Iranian assassin who has since been charged with their attempted murders. [The fourth], meanwhile, was being spied on by an Iranian agent from Sweden. . . . This was not Iran’s first attempt to assassinate dissidents; nor will it be the last. The regime targeted opposition groups all over Europe in 2018 and succeeded in assassinating another [Iranian-Arab] activist in the Netherlands in 2017.
Why did Iran switch gears and decide to go through legal and political channels to bring down its adversaries rather than hunting them down? [It] realized that putting pressure on European governments would make the Islamic Republic appear clean and yield the desired results while shifting scrutiny onto its adversary, Saudi Arabia. For that reason, Iran leaned heavily on Denmark to arrest the . . . activists.
The European domestic media are all too happy to regurgitate Iranian propaganda talking points without delving into how and why Iran has so much sway over their countries’ political and law-enforcement priorities.
Read more on BESA Center: https://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/iran-lawfare-europe/