Sentenced next month
Two Iranian men who spied on a UK barrister and Iranian journalists working for a broadcaster banned by the Iranian regime have been convicted of assisting a foreign intelligence service.
Mostafa Sepahvand and Farhad Javadi Manesh were found to have been working on behalf of the Iranian state following a trial at Woolwich Crown Court. A third defendant, Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, was acquitted of all offences.
One of those targeted was Jonathan Turner, a tenant at Three Stone Building who specialises in intellectual property and competition law. He is also chief executive of UK Lawyers for Israel.
Videos, photographs and text messages found on devices showed Sepahvand carrying out surveillance on targets’ homes and work addresses to locate other journalists associated with the television channel. He led contact with handlers in Iran, while Manesh passed information, photographs and videos to him. Sepahvand had been promised tens of thousands of pounds.
Sepahvand admitted spying and that his actions were capable of helping a foreign intelligence service, but claimed he had acted out of fear of the consequences of refusing to comply. Prosecutors had to prove that his actions were intentional and that he knew, or ought reasonably to have known, the reconnaissance was likely to be useful to foreign spies carrying out hostile activity in the UK.
Cell-site location data placed Sepahvand in a particular area of London in late 2024 while he was conducting surveillance on a separate target. His phone also contained photographs, Google searches and addresses relating to a target who had left home over security concerns and temporarily moved to a west London hotel.
A message to his contact in Iran showed Sepahvand asking for £150,000 to “finish [the target] off” once they had been found. The CPS said he was willing to go beyond surveillance and commit serious violence, but the defendants were stopped before any attack could take place.
The men will be sentenced at the Central Criminal Court on 17 December 2026.
