Men sentenced to 23 years in prison for killing Iranian tied to 1980s fatal bombing

On Thursday, the court at Schiphol sentenced Anouar A. (33) and Moreo M. (40) on appeal to 23 years and six months in prison for the murder of Ali Motamed in Almere at the end of 2015. Earlier this month, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) demanded 22 and 24 years in prison against them. The court spoke of “a cold, unscrupulous murder for hire.”

Motamed (56), born in Iran, was shot dead in the early morning of 15 December 2015 in front of his home on Hendrik Marsmanstraat as he was going to work. He was killed with one aimed shot through the head. The perpetrators disappeared without a trace. A. and M. only came into the picture long after the assassination, when the police gained access to encrypted communication on the phone of another suspect in the case. Using telecom data, car movements, and tapped conversations, the police linked them to the murder.

The court called “the ease and carelessness” with which the decrypted messages talked about ending a human life “downright shocking and horrifying.” It was “apparently an excellent opportunity to make money in a relatively risk-free way. An extremely unconscionable act,” said the court, which also canceled the parole and early release from the first ruling for both perpetrators. For M., that means 957 extra days and 661 days for A.

Motamed’s violent death had long been a complete mystery. It was not until 2018 that suspicions arose about his real identity - Mohammad Reza Kolahi Samadi, who had been sentenced to death in Iran for committing a bloody bomb attack on the headquarters of the Republican Party in the early 1980s. Dozens died in the attack, including leaders of the Iranian regime.

The suspicion that Motamed’s possible political background played a role in his murder has never been confirmed. Although the intelligence service AIVD has strong indications that Iran had a hand in the assassination, this was not established in the criminal case against the murderers. The issue still plays a prominent role in the appeal of Naoufal F., previously sentenced to life in prison for directing Motamed’s murder. His appeal will appear in court later.

In 2019, the court in Lelystad sentenced A. and M. to 20 and 25 years in prison. Both still consistently deny any involvement.