Farzad Bazoft

Farzad Bazoft
Born	May 22, 1958 Iran
Died	March 15, 1990 Iraq
Occupation	Journalist
Nationality	Iranian-British
Period	1980s-1990
Subject	Middle East

Farzad Bazoft (May 22, 1958 – March 15, 1990) was an Iranian-born journalist who settled in the United Kingdom in the early 1980s and worked as a freelance reporter for The Observer. He was accused of spying for Israel while working in Iraq, convicted and executed.

Bazoft was born in Iran and settled in the United Kingdom in the early 1980s. He wrote a number of articles on the Middle East before being invited to Iraq to participate in a trip for journalists organized by the Iraqi government. The aim of this action was to present the reconstruction works in Iraq after the war against Iran. When Barzoft set off, he learned about a mysterious explosion which happened in the al-Iskandaria military complex 30 miles south of Baghdad. The heavy detonation was heard as far as in Baghdad itself. Despite Saddam Hussein's personal order to keep the matter secret, rumours began to spread that the accident happened in a rocket factory's assembly line, killing dozens of Egyptian technicians involved in Iraq's secret development of medium-range ballistic missiles.

Smelling a likely scoop, Bazoft headed for al-Hilla disguised as an Indian medic to search for details. However, other reports have it that he undertook his investigation with the accord of Iraqi officials. Observer editor Donald Trelford said in response to later events: "Farzad Bazoft is not a spy. He is a reporter who went to do a story. He said in advance the story he was going to do... He told the Baghdad government where he wanted to go... This is not the action of a spy, this is the action of a reporter." Other western reporters were also interested in the story, but a camera crew from Independent Television News were stopped by the Iraqi authorities before they could reach the plant. Barzoft got through, driven by British nurse Daphne Parish.

Barzoft and Parish were arrested at Baghdad airport in September 1999, while waiting for their flights back to London. Barzoft was found to have 34 photographs of military installations in his luggage, together with soil samples from near the factory. After 6 weeks in custody at the Abu Graib prison, he was put in front of the TV cameras on 1 November and confessed to being an Israeli agent. Before their trial, President Saddam Hussein had written to the British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, assuring her that Farzad Bazoft and Daphne Parish would get a fair hearing.

Following a one-day trial behind closed doors, lacking any conclusive evidence of his guilt, Bazoft was convicted and sentenced to death on 10 March 1990. Parish was sentenced to 15 years in prison, but she was released on 16 July following a plea for clemency from Zambian president Kenneth Kaunda.

International appeals for clemency for Barzoft had no effect. He was not permitted to appeal his conviction, and he was executed by hanging at 6:30am on 15 March. A number of Converative MPs in the UK supported his execution. Immediately after his execution, the British ambassador was ordered to leave Iraq and all ministerial visits were cancelled. Bazoft's story triggered a general outrage of the West and contributed to international isolation of Saddam's regime. Just a few months later, on 2 August, Iraq invaded Kuwait, sparking the first Gulf War.

In 2003, The Observer tracked down Kadem Askar, the colonel in the Irai intelligence service who conducted the initial interrogation of Barzoft. He admitted that he knew Barzoft was innocent, but that he was powerless to obstruct Saddam Hussein's orders to have him convicted and executed.

References

• Observer 'spy' sentenced to die, BBC "On this day", 10 March 1990
• Remembrance article
• Editorial, The Observer, 18 March 1990, the Sunday following Barzoft's execution
• Proved innocent, The Observer, 18 May 2003