Former vice-president released on bail pending appeal of protest charges
AFP
- Iranian former vice president Mohammad Ali Abtahi, who has been
sentenced to six years in prison in connection with protests over
June's presidential election, has been released on bail, the official
IRNA news agency reported on Sunday.
Abtahi, who was a close aide of reformist ex-president Mohammad
Khatami, was granted bail pending appeal of the jail term handed down
by the court of first instance, the ISNA news agency reported.
Under Iranian law, any jail sentence of three months or more is subject
to appeal and a convict can be granted bail for the 20-day period
allowed for one to be lodged.
"Abtahi was released this afternoon after he paid the bail amount," Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari Doulatabadi told IRNA.
ISNA quoted the head of the revolutionary courts as saying that bail was set at seven billion rials (700,000 US dollars).
"Abtahi was sentenced to six years in prison for acting against
national security and propaganda activity," the news agency quoted the
courts chief as saying without giving his name.
The former vice president was among scores of opposition figures who
were arrested shortly after the publication of official election
results giving hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a second term.
He had remained in custody ever since.
An Iranian website reported earlier that Abtahi had appeared in court
on Saturday and been found guilty of a variety of charges including
"gathering and plotting against the country's security, propaganda
against the regime, insulting the president and participating in an
illegal demonstration."
The report said the court had used as evidence posts on his web log, an
interview with the BBC's Persian service and participation in a protest
rally on June 15, when hundreds of thousands marched across Tehran.
The judiciary official told ISNA that Abtahi was still facing
prosecution before the revolutionary courts on the additional charge of
"keeping classified documents."
Protesters charging the election was massively rigged held a series of
mass demonstrations this summer, plunging the Islamic republic into one
of its worst crisis in 30 years.
Thousands were arrested and dozens killed. The opposition charges that
a number of those detained were abused or raped in custody. About 140
protesters have been tried and five have been sentenced to death.
Abtahi, who was detained only a few days after the June 12 vote,
reportedly withdrew his accusations of electoral fraud when he appeared
in court on August 1 and expressed regret that he had taken part in the
protests.
The opposition has condemned the "show trials" and "forced confessions," and called for the prisoners' unconditional release.
Thoughts?
I think we don't know how darn lucky we are! 6 yrs for protesting I dont want to know ant of there other punishments.People here are upset over stupid thing we can't do maybe they should go visit them bet they come back with a different attitude.
Well said and how true Cowsgirlsr2 !!! This Thanksgiving Americans should be thankful that we live in America and not a country like Iran.
I feel so sorry for Iran's Vice President and all the other people who were punished or put on death row who dared to protest what they believed to be an unfair election. There were even minors who were a part of the protest who were sentenced to death by the Iranian government. Now how scary and sad is that ?
Quoting cowgirlsr2:
I think we don't know how darn lucky we are! 6 yrs for protesting I dont want to know ant of there other punishments.People here are upset over stupid thing we can't do maybe they should go visit them bet they come back with a different attitude.
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on Nov. 22, 2009 at 11:44 PM