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Source: https://news.trust.org/item/20200327201312-k2k1h
Iranian Diplomats Instigated Killing of Dissident in Istanbul, Turkish Officials Say
(Reuters) Two intelligence officers at Iran's consulate in Turkey instigated the killing last November of an Iranian dissident in Istanbul, two senior Turkish officials told Reuters. Masoud Molavi Vardanjani was shot dead on an Istanbul street on Nov. 14, 2019, a little over a year after he left Iran. He worked in cyber security at Iran's defense ministry and had become a vocal critic of the Iranian authorities. A Turkish official said "the testimonies of the arrested suspects [showed] that these two Iranians, carrying diplomatic passports, had given the order for the assassination," and identified the two men by their first names and initials. Vardanjani posted a message on social media targeting Iran's Revolutionary Guards in August, three months before he was shot dead. "I will root out the corrupt mafia commanders," the post said. "Pray that they don't kill me before I do this."