An Iranian blogger and photojournalist faces "imminent death" for "blasphemous" Facebook posts in Tehran, human rights organisations warn.
Arabi and his wife were arrested in November last year. She was later released, while he was transferred to Tehran's notorious Elvin prison where he was kept in solitary confinement, subjected to repeated abusive interrogations and denied access to his lawyer.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The court rejected his defence that he was in "poor psychological condition" when the crime was committed and that he had not written the posts himself, but simply shared the views of others on the social networking site.
According to Arabi's lawyer, the Supreme Court unlawfully added the charge of "sowing corruption of earth", to Arabi's case. In addition to carrying a death sentence, the charge also precludes the possibility of amnesty.
Human Right Watch says the ambiguous charge is often used by Iranian authorities to "prosecute, convict, and sentence political dissidents and others exercising their basic rights to freedom of speech, assembly, association, and religion."
Eric Goldstein from HRW said "it is simply shocking that anyone should face the gallows simply because of internet postings that are deemed to be crude, offensive, or insulting".
The group is calling on Iran to revise its penal code to stop the criminalisation of peaceful free expression, "especially when they punish its exercise with death".
Iran has one of the worst records of jailing journalists in the world. According to Reporters without Borders, 65 journalists and bloggers are currently being held in Iranian prisons.
-
‘Social media is the new tabloid’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Can the NBA survive FBI’s gambling investigation?Talking Points A casualty of the ‘sports gambling revolution’
-
How are ICE’s recruitment woes complicating Trump’s immigration agenda?TODAY’S BIG QUESTION Lowered training standards and ‘athletically allergic’ hopefuls are hindering the White House plan to turn the Department of Homeland Security into a federal police force
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
Why Gen Z in Nepal is dying over a state social media banIN THE SPOTLIGHT A crackdown on digital platforms has pushed younger Nepalis into increasingly violent clashes with government forces
-
'Axis of upheaval': will China summit cement new world order?Today's Big Question Xi calls on anti-US alliance to cooperate in new China-led global system – but fault lines remain
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
Iran still has enriched uranium, Israeli official saysSpeed Read It remains unclear how long it would take Iran to rebuild its nuclear program following US and Israeli attacks
