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|---|---|
| Iran jails Bahai 'propagandists' | Iran jails Bahai 'propagandists' |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| Iran has sentenced three members of the Bahai faith to four years in jail for security offences and 51 others to suspended prison terms. | Iran has sentenced three members of the Bahai faith to four years in jail for security offences and 51 others to suspended prison terms. |
| They were convicted for propaganda against the system in the southern city of Shiraz, a judiciary spokesman said, without giving details. | They were convicted for propaganda against the system in the southern city of Shiraz, a judiciary spokesman said, without giving details. |
| Bahaism is a branch of Islam viewed as heresy by Iran's religious authorities. | Bahaism is a branch of Islam viewed as heresy by Iran's religious authorities. |
| The spokesman said the 51 suspended sentences were conditional on attending courses by state propaganda officials. | The spokesman said the 51 suspended sentences were conditional on attending courses by state propaganda officials. |
| The defendants were arrested early last year, according to officials. | The defendants were arrested early last year, according to officials. |
| The authorities said they were proselytising in the southern city of Shiraz under the cover of helping the poor. | The authorities said they were proselytising in the southern city of Shiraz under the cover of helping the poor. |
| Speaking at his regular news conference, spokesman Ali Reza Jamshidi said the 51 had already been freed. | Speaking at his regular news conference, spokesman Ali Reza Jamshidi said the 51 had already been freed. |
| Iran's constitution recognises only Islam, Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism as legitimate religions. | Iran's constitution recognises only Islam, Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism as legitimate religions. |
| Corrupt official hanged | |
| At the same briefing, Mr Jamshidi announced that a customs broker had been executed for corruption and bribery. | |
| Three other customs officials were condemned to death in the same case - involving a bribe of 10bn rials ($1m or £0.5m) - but they had appealed for their sentences to be reduced to life imprisonment. | |
| Mr Jamshidi admitted it was "rare" for the death sentence in Iran to be handed down for financial crimes and may have been the first such case. | |
| Iran is one of the world's heaviest users of the death penalty, most frequently for violent crime and sex offences. | |
| Media reports put the number of convicts executed this month at 28. About 300 were executed last year. |