Crackdown on reformists continues in Iran

Another prominent reformist journalist in Iran has been given a prison sentence for articles he wrote in several now-banned newspapers.

The journalist, Massoud Behnoud, who also wrote for the BBC, was given nineteen months and fined for insulting the Islamic establishment.

He says he intends to appeal.

Mr Behnoud is the latest in a long line of writers and other figures to be jailed by the conservative judiciary in recent months.

The BBC Teheran correspondent says the clampdown is a manifestation of rising political tension in the run-up to presidential elections in June. Meanwhile, a conservative newspaper, Entekhob, which is close to the judiciary, says the official Iranian news agency, IRNA, is to be sued for spreading rumours of the death in jail of the pro-reform journalist Akbar Ganji.

Mr Ganji was one of a group of journalists jailed for visiting a conference on change in Iran, held in Berlin last year.

The IRNA managing director says he's not been informed of the charges.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service