Iran's Former Vice President Taken To Evin Prison

Former Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi

Iran's official IRNA news agency reported that the country's former first vice president has been taken to prison to serve a jail term for corruption.

Mohammad Reza Rahimi was taken by police officers from his home in Tehran and transferred to the Evin Prison on February 15, IRNA said.

Rahimi was convicted by Iran's Supreme Court in January and sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to pay a $300,000 fine.

The court also ordered Rahimi to pay compensation equivalent to some $800,000.

Rahimi, a top aide to former President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, is the highest-ranking former Iranian government official to have been convicted and jailed in Iran's history.

Based on reporting by AP and presstv.ir