02 December 2014

No sign of pardon for Iran blogger sentenced to death

On Dec. 1, the deputy head of Iran’s judiciary, Gholam Ali Mohseni Ejei, responded to a reporter’s question about Soheil Arabi, who was sentenced to death for Facebook posts deemed insulting to the Prophet Muhammad. Ejei said, “Currently, there is no pardon, and he’s been convicted of ‘corruption on Earth,’ but there has been a request for his case to be reviewed again.”

According to the transcript provided by Islamic Republic News Agency, Mohseni Ejei did not elaborate further.

Many Iranian Facebook users became aware of Arabi’s case on Nov. 24, when Iran's Supreme Court upheld the death sentence for Arabi, who was convicted in a Tehran criminal court with insulting the prophet. A Facebook page against Arabi's execution was set up to spread awareness about the case. [Al-Monitor] Read more