Iranian dissident fined by Tehran court

A court in the Iranian capital, Tehran, has fined a prominent opposition activist about five-hundred dollars, for distributing a monthly news digest without government permission.

The activist, Habibullah Peyman, rejected the charges, saying he didn't need to register his journal, which he had been distributing in limited numbers for five years.

Mr Peyman's lawyer said he thought the trial was probably connected to his client's support for a senior religious leader, Ayatollah Montazeri, in his dispute with Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service