BBC News | MIDDLE EAST | Iranian reformer jailed

BBC News Online: World: Middle East

Saturday, 27 November, 1999, 12:16 GMT

Iranian reformer jailed

A clerical court in Iran has sentenced the prominent reformer, Abdollah Nouri, to five years in jail for political and religious dissent.

The Special Court for Clergy also shut down Mr Nouri's reformist newspaper.

Correspondents say the sentence deals a blow to Iran's reformist movement ahead of elections in three months' time.

And in a second high-profile case, the editor of the banned reformist Neshat newspaper, Mashallah Shamsolvaezin, has been sentenced to three years in prison on charges of forgery and questioning Islamic principles, state television reported on Saturday.

'Not unhappy about what I said'

Mr Nouri, a former Iranian Government minister, was found guilty of 15 counts of religious and political dissent earlier this month after a trial lasting six days.

He said a duty to God and the country led him to challenge the Islamic establishment and he was indifferent to his jail sentence.

Before his sentence, Mr Nouri said in an interview: "I do not believe I was sacrificed.

The charge sheet

publishing anti-religious material
insulting the late Ayatollah Khomeini
disturbing public opinion
insulting officials
advocating links with the US

"I am not unhappy about what I said. I am completely ready to go to prison."

Mahmoud Shams, editor-in-chief of the reformist Asr-e-Azadegan newspaper, who is himself awaiting a verdict on several charges that include insulting Islam, called Mr Nouri's conviction a step toward democracy.

"What is happening to Mr Nouri and myself is the price of democracy," he told newsagency AP.

"A few years ago intellectuals and reformists would be given capital punishment or they would be otherwise eliminated. Now, we are only getting jail terms. This is a step forward."

Mr Nouri's supporters say he is the victim of a campaign in the run-up to parliamentary elections next year.

Harsher than expected

The BBC Middle East correspondent, Jim Muir, says there was never much doubt that the trial would result in a prison sentence.

Even before Mr Nouri had presented his final written defence, the jury of hardline clerics had already pronounced him guilty on 15 of the 20 charges ranged against him.

In the end, the five-year sentence was harsher than the three-year suspended sentence newspapers had predicted.

Mr Nouri was refused bail, meaning he should begin serving his sentence immediately, though he still has the right of appeal.

Throughout his trial, Mr Nouri refused to recognise the competence of the special clerical court, which operates outside the judicial system and is viewed by many observers as hardline and conservative.

Mr Nouri, who was impeached as interior minister by hardliners in parliament last year, was the most successful candidate in the Islamic republic's first-ever municipal elections almost nine months ago.

Our correspondent says his supporters were hoping he would repeat that performance in next year's parliamentary elections. Mr Nouri was seen as a likely candidate to become speaker of parliament.

Related to this story:
Profile of Abdollah Nouri (27 Nov 99 | Middle East)
Iranian cleric 'ready' for prison (20 Nov 99 | Middle East)
Iranian cleric found guilty (11 Nov 99 | Middle East)
Khamenei moves to heal leadership rift (01 Oct 99 | Middle East)
Iranian judges ban reformist paper (05 Sep 99 | Middle East)
Iranian editors ordered to court (25 Jul 99 | Middle East)
Analysis: Iran's divided society (16 Jul 99 | Middle East)

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