An Iranian photographer and blogger has seen his death sentence upheld by the country's Supreme Court for insulting the Prophet Mohammed in several Facebook posts, according to local reports.
The photographer, 30-year-old Soheil Arabi, was arrested in November 2013 by the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) in his home in Tehran, over allegations of "insulting the Prophet of Islam" (sabbo al-nabi).
Arabi was jailed for two months in solitary confinement in the feared section 2A of Evin Prison, which is under the rule of the IRGC.
.... But his lawyers had hoped that the Supreme Court would dismiss the charges based on Article 263 of the Islamic Penal Code. According to International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, the article "explicitly states that if a suspect claims in court that he said the insulting words in anger, in quoting someone, or by mistake, his death sentence will be converted to 74 lashes".
However, the top court not only confirmed the death sentence, but also added a new charge - "corruption on earth" - which cannot receive a pardon under Iranian law. [International Business Times] Read more
