Jailed Iran Jews' appeal rejected

The case has cast a shadow over Jewish community

Iran's supreme court has rejected an appeal from 10 jailed Iranian Jews convicted of spying for Israel.

Iranian media said three supreme court judges had studied the appeal and found it to have no legal basis.

The men were given prison terms ranging from four to 13 years by a court in Shiraz last July. Three others were acquitted.

In September, the defendants had their sentences reduced by between two and six years.

The appeal writs contained repetitious material which had been heard

Prosecutor's office

No further appeal is possible.

Hamid 'Danny' Tefileen, a merchant whose recruitment of Muslim accomplices first alerted security forces to the group's espionage ring, had his sentence cut to nine years from 13.

Asher Zadmehr, a university instructor of English, had his jail term cut from 13 to seven years.

Two Muslim collaborators, a military officer and a defence contractor, have also received prison sentences in the case.

The case remains open against at least four Muslims and one other Jewish suspect, Eshaq Belans, who has fled Iran.

No requests for pardon

A statement from the prosecutor's office, quoted by the Iranian news agency Irna on Wednesday, said: "The appeal writs contained repetitious material which had been heard by the court of first instance and the appeals court ... and the supreme court issued an opinion rejecting the request."

An Iranian judiciary spokesman said the judiciary had not received any requests for pardon from the 10 men.

However, a Jewish member of Iran's parliament claimed the 10 had sought pardon from supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Israel, which is not recognised by Iran, has denied any espionage link with the men.

Jews have lived in Iran for at least 2,000 years

Iran, for its part, has rejected international criticism of the case as interference in its internal affairs.

The US State Department has expressed disappointment the court did not overturn all the convictions.

Both the United States and France had urged Iran to ensure justice in a case see as a battleground between hard-line clerics and reformists.

Human rights groups questioned the fairness of the closed-door court with no jury and the judge also acting as prosecutor.

The case focused attention on the country's 30,000-strong Jewish community, the oldest and biggest in the Middle East outside Israel.