Tortured dissident Sam Parsa tried to petrol bomb car at Iran’s London embassy

Ex-political prisoner found guilty of arson with intent to endanger life

Sam Parsa was found guilty of trying to firebomb a car at Iran's London embassy. Metropolitan Police

A tortured Iranian dissident has been found guilty of trying to petrol bomb a car at the country’s London embassy.

Sam Parsa, 59, tried to place a bottle containing petrol, heavy petroleum distillate and a piece of scarf inside the exhaust pipe of a black BMW at the Iranian embassy in South Kensington in September 2018.

The Old Bailey heard the bottle could have been ignited by the heat from the car exhaust.

He was found guilty of arson with intent to endanger life, Sky News reported.

Parsa had fled to Britain after spending seven years as a political prisoner in Iran. The court heard he had been a member of the Iranian People’s Fedaian, a Marxist opposition group.

The 59-year-old said he was tortured so he would reveal other members of the group. "On five occasions I was whipped, I went unconscious. They also hung me from my hands,” he told the court. "They poured boiling water on my arms and legs. On some occasions they would push my head underwater to try and make me confess."

Parsa told police after his arrest that he was a proud Briton who opposed Iran’s leadership.

Prosecutor Benjamin Holt said evidence of Parsa’s activism showed he had the “determination” and “motivation” to carry out the crime.

He will be sentenced in January.