Prominent Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh criticized the Iranian authorities for using foreign nationals as bargaining chips following the arrest of Italian journalist Cecilia Sala.
"For the regime, every foreign citizen is a bargaining chip for their demands," Sotoudeh said in an interview with Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera.
She described Sala's arrest as "disgraceful" and demanded her immediate release, stressing, "Journalism is neither a crime nor a bargaining chip."
The case has been likened to that of Swedish EU diplomat who was exchanged in return for a jailed Iranian official imprisoned on charges of war crimes in June.
Last year, five US-Iranians were also exchanged for the release of $5bn in frozen Iranian funds.
Sotoudeh called on the international community to pressure Iran to respect human rights and release all unjustly imprisoned journalists, the exact numbers of which are not known, but around 100 have been arrested in Iran this year alone.
In 2021, Sotoudeh was recognized as one of Time's 100 Most Influential People in the World. Despite her contributions to human rights advocacy, Sotoudeh was imprisoned in Tehran's Evin Prison, where Sala is now being held, and was released on a medical furlough in July 2021.
Recalling the time she spent in the notorious jail, which has held a string of high-profile international detainees such as British-Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, she said: "I remember the gray walls, the very small space in the room, and the cold. Political prisoners like us were given just one blanket without a pillow or mattress. I couldn’t call home, and when they allowed me this luxury, there was always a guard next to me listening to my conversations."
Her husband Reza Khandan was recently detained in Tehran for his activism and his support of Sotoudeh's campaign against Iran’s mandatory hijab laws.
Local rights group Haalvsh, citing a statement by Ansar al-Furqan, reported on Sunday that the group claimed responsibility for the attack.
The attack took place outside a police headquarters in Bandar Lengeh, a town on the Persian Gulf coast.
While Iranian state media say Captain Mojtaba Shahidi Takhti, the head of Bandar Lengeh police intelligence was the only victim of the attack, a statement by Ansar al-Furqan claims Sohrab Hassan Zadeh, a senior IRGC intelligence member in Hormozgan province, and Bakhtiar Soleimanpour, a delegate from Tehran's central police intelligence unit were also killed in the incident.
Iran International cannot independently verify the militant group's claim.
Captain Javad Chatr-Sahar, the deputy head of Bandar Lengeh police intelligence, was injured in the attack, the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News confirmed on Saturday citing the local governor.
The identity of the suicide bomber has not yet been precisely identified, the deputy security chief of Hormozgan province said on Sunday, but evidence suggests they were affiliated with what he called terrorist groups.
Authorities in Hormozgan province have arrested one individual in connection with the attack, Iran's judiciary's news agency Mizan reported Sunday citing the provincial judiciary chief.
The bomber was positioned on the two police officers' exit route and triggered the explosion with a remote control, the report by Tasnim news agency said.
Security forces promptly arrived at the scene after the incident and confirmed the attacker was also killed, Tasnim added, citing the local governor Foad Moradzadeh.
The attack came days before the anniversary of twin suicide bombings in January this year claimed by Islamic State which killed nearly 100 people at a southeastern Iran memorial for late top IRGC general Qassem Soleimani.
"A vehicle belonging to the Intelligence Organization of Iran's Law Enforcement Command overturned for unknown reasons while on duty on the Ardestan to Na'ein road, near the Noor Complex," Iranian news agency Rokna reported.
"In this incident, General Jalal Sharafat was martyred due to the severity of his injuries and Major Seyyed Mohsen Mirghasemi was injured," the report added.
Sherafat previously served as the head of the Iranian Anti-Narcotics Police's Cyberspace Center at least until 2019, but it is not clear what his position was at the time of his death.
