Iran court increases journalist sentence

An appeals court in Iran has extended the prison sentence imposed on a prominent Iranian journalist, Akbar Ganji, from six months to six years.

Mr Ganji was convicted of damaging state security by attending a conference in Berlin on the future of Iran.

In May, his ten-year sentence was reduced on appeal to six months.

But the prosecutor complained and the case was referred to a higher court.

A BBC correspondent says Mr Ganji, a supporter of the reform movement in Iran, made enemies by naming members of the conservative establishment as being responsible for the killing of dissidents and intellectuals.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service