An Iranian court has sentence leading reformist Behzad Nabavi to six years in prison for his part in June demonstrations but freed him on bail pending a possible appeal, his lawyer told AFP on Thursday. It was the latest in a string of tough jail terms handed down against prominent critics of hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad over the mass protests that broke out after his disputed re-election.
Nabavi, a former deputy speaker of parliament and a member of the central council of the reformist Organisation of Mujahedeen of the Islamic Revolution, received a five year sentence for "disturbing the country's security" and an extra year for "propaganda against the Islamic republic," lawyer Saleh Nikbakht said.
He vowed to appeal against the verdict handed down late on Wednesday, noting that his client insisted on his innocence throughout the trial. "Mr Nabavi insisted in his closing defence that he had committed no illegal action," Nikbakht said.
The lawyersaid the judgement of the court was entirely "disproportionate" as Nabavi had spent "just 20 minutes" at the June 15 protest that was the basis of the charges "before leaving because of his heart disease."