Jewish sources here have confirmed that four members of a prominent Iranian Jewish family have gone on trial before an Islamic Revolutionary Court in Teheran this week. The four were identified as Izook, Abraham, David and Baruch Boruchim.
Iran’s official Pars news agency reported that the four men were charged with embezzlement of public funds in building a chain of hotels and “creating an espionage center for American and Israeli agents and their servants. “The news agency said hotel employes had claimed the Boruchims hosted “continual meetings of Iranian Jews in the hotels and organized meetings of Zionists.”
The charges carry the death penalty, according to Pars. In May 1979, a prominent Jewish businessman, Habib Elghanian, was executed on a variety of charges, including having Zionist affiliations. On April 22 in the city of Hamadan, west of Teheran, a Jew, Moishe Danielpur, who had been scheduled to be executed had his death sentence commuted. Danielpur was one of three brothers sentenced to death, two of them in absentia, on charges of cooperation with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and Mossad, the Israeli intelligence service.
Meanwhile, there were reports from Teheran today that seven men were executed in Teheran’s jails on charges which included cooperation with Israel. About 800 people have been executed by Islamic Revolutionary Courts since the revolution took over 15 months ago.
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
