Australian-Iranian Shokrollah Jebeli, 83, dies in Tehran prison

An 83-year-old Australian-Iranian imprisoned in Iran for more than two years on what his family said were false accusations of fraud has died.

Shokrollah Jebeli died in Evin prison hospital in Tehran on Sunday, his son Peyman said.

Amnesty International said his treatment in jail had in effect been torture. Iran has not commented.

Mr Jebeli’s death comes at a time of heightened focus on the plight of dual nationals imprisoned in Iran.

Conservationist Morad Tahbaz, a British-US national held since 2018 on spying charges, has gone on hunger strike after Iran did not release him when two British-Iranian nationals, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori, were freed on Thursday.

Iran does not recognise dual nationality and there are no exact figures on the number of such detainees.

Peyman Jebeli tweeted on an account which had campaigned for his father’s release that Shokrollah Jebeli had died.