Persian Journal
May 3rd, 2004 - 22:21:54

Iran's mullahs reimposed death sentence on Aghajari
May 3, 2004, 21:43 Associated Press

An Iranian court reimposed a death sentence Monday against a
university professor who criticized clerical rule, a judicial official
told The Associated Press.

The original sentence handed down to Hashem Aghajari in November 2002
infuriated students and led to some of the biggest demonstrations in
years.

The death sentence was reinstated by a court in Hamedan province in
western Iran, said Zekrollah Ahmadi, the chief judiciary official in
the province.

Aghajari was convicted in 2002 of insulting Islam and questioning the
rule of hard-line mullahs. He was condemned to death, banned from
teaching for 10 years, exiled for eight years to three remote cities,
and sentenced to 74 lashes.

Iran's Supreme Court lifted the death sentence in February 2003,
saying the charges were inconsistent with what Aghajari had said in
the speech that triggered his prosecution.