The family of Mansour Arbabsiar, an Iranian-American who was arrested in the US on charges of plotting an assassination, say they were deceived about the terms of a plea bargain that he signed, Press TV reports.
In September 2011, Arbabsiar was arrested at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport on charges of planning to assassinate Saudi Ambassador Adel al-Jubeir in a bomb attack at a restaurant in Washington.
Following his arrest, he signed a plea agreement, which was offered to him by US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara.
Arbabsiar had been misled about the plea agreement by Sabrina Shroff, a federal public defender appointed by the court to represent him, his family said. They also said the plea bargain was signed under duress.
Å“After the arrest of my uncle, there was a plea bargain under which in exchange for my uncleâ„¢s confession, the prosecutor would sentence him to three years of house arrest instead of 25 years in prison. If we refused to accept the plea bargain, the case would go to the court,” said his nephew, Mohammad-Hossein Arbabsiar.
Å“My uncleâ„¢s lawyer, Sabrina Shroff, who was appointed by the court, told us about the deal and under her guidance my uncle signed the plea bargain. After postponing the sentencing four times, now the prosecutor is asking for the maximum sentence, 25 years.” he added.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Araqchi also touched upon the issue during a recent press conference.
Å“Iran Foreign Ministryâ„¢s stance about Mansour Arbabsiar has always been clear. He is an American with an Iranian background who is a victim of conspiracy orchestrated by the Zionist regime [of Israel] and other suspicious hands,” Araqchi said.
Å“We have always defended his rights as an individual because of his Iranian background. He is not linked to Iran. We want him to have a fair trial. There have been many question marks about his trial. We are closely following his case,” he added.
In October 2011, the US Justice Department accused Iran of orchestrating the alleged plot to assassinate Jubeir. However, the Islamic Republic rejected the allegation as baseless.
MKA/HMV
This article originally appeared on : Press TV