Engineer Taking Software to Iran Gets Prison Time
An Iranian-born engineer who worked at the largest nuclear power plant in the US was sentenced for 15 months in prison for taking software that he found at the plant to Iran. The judge ordered that Mohammad Reza Alavi’s 2 sentences of 15 months each be served at the same time. Alavi, a naturalized U.S. citizen, worked for the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station west of Phoenix for seventeen years. Palo Verde officials have stated the software didn’t contain sufficient data to pose a security threat.
Alavi, 51, apologized in court before the sentence, which was more than the 6 months the defense had asked for but less than the prosecution sought. Alavi said. “I love America and would never do anything to hurt this country.” The U.S. and its allies suspect that Iran wants to develop weapons through a peaceful nuclear program, but Tehran says it is focused solely on power generation.
Prosecutors said Alavi probably wished to use the software to promote his chances for a job in the Iranian nuclear industry. Access to protected American software would have made him especially worthy, they said. Alavi’s lawyer said he took the software with him because he was proud he had helped design it. He said he showed the software only to his family, and then only for a few minutes.
Alavi’s access to the plant’s computer network had ceased 11 days after he left the job in August 2006. But when he was in Iran 2 months later, investigators said, Alavi downloaded an access code from the software manufacturer.
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