Iran acquits defendants in Saudi mission attack

Iran’s judiciary acquitted more than 40 defendants charged over the January attack on the Saudi mission in Tehran, according to news reports.

Lawyer Mostafa Shaabani said that all the suspects were acquitted of charges of “deliberate sabotage of the Saudi Embassy”, ILNA news agency reported

According to the lawyer, the court acquitted the suspects because Saudi Arabia had not filed suits against them for sabotage, thus providing the ground for their exoneration.

However, he said, the court sentenced some of them to 91 days to six months in prison for disturbing public order.

Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic relations with Iran after protesters stormed the kingdom’s embassy in Tehran and consulate in Mashhad on 2 January in response to Riyadh’s execution of a prominent Saudi Shia cleric Nimr Al-Nimr.

The Iranian government condemned the assault and President Hassan Rouhani, keen to improve Tehran’s long-strained relations with its neighbours and the West, asked the judiciary to punish the protesters and prevent further attacks.

Iran’s judiciary announced in April that more than 100 suspects had been arrested over the attack on the Saudi mission and 48 were charged. All were released on bail.