Iran jails Nobel winner's aide for 11 years
2011-09-28 20:34
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Lonely Planet Iran
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Tehran - Iran has sentenced a close aide to Nobel peace laureate Shirin Ebadi to 11 years in jail on charges of working to undermine the regime, opposition websites reported on Wednesday.
"Mohammadi was sentenced to a total of 11 years in jail on Tuesday," reported Kalame.com, the website of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi.
"She got five years for acting against national security, another five years for being a member of the Defenders of Human Rights Centre and one year for spreading propaganda against the regime," the report added, citing court papers.
Mohammadi, a mother of two, is the deputy head of the Defenders of Human Rights Centre. The group, presided over by Ebadi, a vocal critic of Iran's rights "abuses" as well as its treatment of dissidents.
She was first arrested in June 2010, on the eve of the first anniversary of the disputed presidential polls that reelected President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
She was released on bail the next month.
The election sparked widespread allegations by Ahmadinejad's opponents of fraud and led to street protests that rocked the country for several months.
Security forces cracked down heavily, with dozens of protesters killed and hundreds arrested.
Scores of prominent reformists, journalists and rights campaigners were also put on trial - with many receiving stiff jail sentences.
