An Iranian court has sentenced Amir-Reza Arefi to death for ties to an illegal group called the Iranian Royalist Society, RFE/RL's Radio Farda reports.
Arefi's lawyer, Mohammad Mostafaei, said the 21-year-old man was sentenced in Tehran on February 17. The revolutionary court also ruled that Arefi tried to plant bombs at polling stations during the presidential election in June.
But Arefi was arrested two months before the vote was held.
He is the third person to be given the death penalty for alleged ties to the Iranian Royalist Society. The other two -- Arash Rahmanipour and Mohammad Reza Ali Zamani -- were executed on January 28. Arefi has 20 days to appeal his death sentence.
Goudarz Eghtedari, a human rights activist based in Portland, Oregon, tells Radio Farda that no one knows whether the Iranian Royalist Society actually exists. He says some observers believe it was created by Iran's Intelligence Ministry and is used as a pretext to arrest people.
Eghtedari says opposition leader Mehdi Karrubi and several Iranian political organizations condemned the January executions after they were carried out. He says he hopes that similar condemnation of Arefi's sentence occurs earlier so that international attention can be brought to his case as he awaits his
appeal.
Arefi's lawyer, Mohammad Mostafaei, said the 21-year-old man was sentenced in Tehran on February 17. The revolutionary court also ruled that Arefi tried to plant bombs at polling stations during the presidential election in June.
But Arefi was arrested two months before the vote was held.
He is the third person to be given the death penalty for alleged ties to the Iranian Royalist Society. The other two -- Arash Rahmanipour and Mohammad Reza Ali Zamani -- were executed on January 28. Arefi has 20 days to appeal his death sentence.
Goudarz Eghtedari, a human rights activist based in Portland, Oregon, tells Radio Farda that no one knows whether the Iranian Royalist Society actually exists. He says some observers believe it was created by Iran's Intelligence Ministry and is used as a pretext to arrest people.
Eghtedari says opposition leader Mehdi Karrubi and several Iranian political organizations condemned the January executions after they were carried out. He says he hopes that similar condemnation of Arefi's sentence occurs earlier so that international attention can be brought to his case as he awaits his
appeal.
