Friday, January 29, 2010

Iran Hangs 2 Dissidents

TEHRAN, Jan 28: Iran on Thursday hanged two men in the first executions of dissidents since protests erupted over presidential election in June, news reports said.

“Mohammad Reza Ali Zamani and Arash Rahmani Pour, whose cases were confirmed by a Tehran appeals court, were hanged on Thursday morning,” ISNA news agency said, quoting a statement from the Tehran prosecutor’s office.

The pair were also charged with plotting to topple the Islamic government, the agency said.

Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi confirmed the hanging to state-run television. “The two who were hanged today belonged to the monarchist group Tondar (the Kingdom Assembly of Iran).

“During their trials they confessed to obtaining explosives and planning to assassinate officials,” he said.

“They objected to the preliminary sentencing, but the appeals court upheld the verdict and they were hanged today,” Mr Dolatabadi added.

They were the first reported hangings of people tried after the wave of protest that broke out following the re-election on June 12 of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to a second four-year term.

The statement from prosecutor’s office said nine other detained protesters faced charges of being Mohareb (“enemies of God”), trying to topple the government and belonging to the main outlawed opposition group. —AFP

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