61 post-election detainees sentenced to prison terms

Iran's Prosecutor General, Gholamhosein Mohseni Ejei

Spokesman for the Iranian judiciary, Gholamhosein Mohseni Ejei announced that they have issued sentences for 61 people charged in the post-election events.

Iranian media reported that three people were acquitted. Mohsen Ejei added: “The sentences range from six months to 19.5 years in prison while some social restrictions are also included in a number of sentences. The sentences are in the preliminary stage and can be appealed.”

While the judiciary did not announce the names of the individuals that were sentenced, recently opposition websites reported that Iranian blogger, Hossein Derakhshan, was sentenced to 19.5 years in prison.

In reference to a letter of complaint from a number of prominent reformist detainees regarding Revolutionary Guards illegal interference in the 2009 presidential election, Mohseni Ejei announced that the detainees have denied filing such a complaint.

Iran’s Prosecutor General confirmed that the two reformist parties Islamic Iran Participation Front and Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution of Iran are officially dissolved by the order of the judiciary.

Gholamhosein Mohseni Ejei also referred to the arrest of two German reporters today along with Sajjad Ghaderzadeh and Javid HoutanKian, son and lawyer of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, the Iranian woman sentenced to stoning.

He contended that the two German nationals are not reporters and are in Iran on tourist visas.

Sakineh Mohammdi Ashtiani, who was sentenced to stoning for the crime of adultery by the Iranian judiciary, has attracted serious adverse publicity for Iran on an international level. The international publicity has left the 43-year-old woman who is now charged with the murder of her husband, in an undetermined judicial state.