Warsaw Voice - Spy Game

By Marcin Mierzejewski
16 March 2005

Polish anti-terrorist squads apprehended an Iranian techno-spy at the Warsaw airport Feb. 17. The action was a result of an operation carried out in Warsaw in cooperation with American secret services.

The detained, Ali Asghar Manzarpour-a British citizen, was wanted under an international arrest warrant. Życie Warszawy (ŻW) newspaper reported March 9 that United States special services sought him for selling Berkut 360 aircraft technology to Iran. The small, single-engine scout of 900 kilograms is perfectly suited for use in low level flights, below radar. The flying range of up to 3,000 kilometers makes it ideal for scouting. In the spring 2004, Manzarpour exported a prototype from the United States to Great Britain with the intention to subsequently send it to Iran. He did this without the necessary licenses, violating the technological embargo. American agents located the illegal dispatch on the way to the Middle East. It cannot be excluded that Manzarpour's stay in Poland was connected with searching for scientists-nuclear technology experts willing to cooperate with Iran.

The secret operation of detaining the Iranian spy conducted in Warsaw by American counterintelligence in cooperation with Poles lasted for over two weeks. The Americans were determined about apprehending the spy. The course of the operation was supervised by the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security of the United States, with agents of the two departments delegated to Poland in connection with the action.

Thanks to satellite location of Manzarpour, American special services passed on information about his each and every move to Poles. According to ŻW report, such communiqués as "Crossed Siekierkowski bridge" and "Finished meal at restaurant" regularly reached the Polish services. The Americans "took bearings" of his mobile phone signals and monitored his credit cards-they even knew the amount of his dinner bill. Manzarpour, despite that he knew that an arrest warrant for him had been issued, probably did not expect detention in Poland. He was surprised when on Feb. 17 he was apprehended at Okęcie airport and immediately transported into custody.

Poland now awaits a formal motion from the U.S. authorities concerning extradition of the British citizen detained in Warsaw. For smuggling military technology to an enemy state, Manzarpour faces in the United States up to 50 years' imprisonment and $250,000 fine. According to information obtained by the Voice from the Department of Foreign Legal Relations in the Ministry of Justice, the American party has two months for placing a request for extradition counting from the date of the apprehension of Manzarpour, formally arrested at the prosecutor's office motion. His possible extradition will be decided either by the court or the minister of justice. According to the Polish law, if the court allows extradition of a given individual, the final decision is made by the minister of justice. If the court refuses, the decision is final.

Our source at the Ministry of Justice stressed that one of the extradition conditions is that the given act be punishable in both the country demanding extradition of the individual and the country to extradite them. In this context, the case of Manzarpour may lead to controversy, as the Polish regulations somewhat differ from the American laws concerning liability for breaking an embargo. If, upon considering the petition, the court decides negatively, the detention is quashed. That does not rule out institution of proceedings by Polish jurisdiction on the basis of the embargo breaking regulations in force in Poland. However, according to our source, the fact that the court has granted the request concerning provisional detention of Manzarpour awaiting extradition, indicates that probably the court will also grant the request for extradition.