A revolutionary court in Iran has said that more than twenty opposition activists arrested last Sunday were guilty of conspiring to overthrow the country's Islamic regime, reported BBC.online.
The BBC quoted the court as saying it had indisputable evidence that the men were infiltrating legitimate reformist groups and abusing the media to spread false rumors.
The charges carry the death sentence.
The move came as the conservative judiciary banned three more publications close to the reform movement of embattled President Mohammad Khatami, whose supporters have expressed concern he may not run for a second term, said AFP.
The Iran Freedom Movement (IFM), which until now had been tolerated despite an official ban, was barred from conducting any activities by the hardline revolutionary courts, which said it sought to overthrow the regime.
"All activities of the so-called Iran freedom movement are forbidden and illegal," a court official said, just a week after around 20 people with links to the group were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy.
The official, quoted by state radio, said further details about the case would be made public in the near future.
The arrests were condemned by reformists including the Islamic Iran Participation Front, the nation's largest pro-reform party which is headed by Khatami's brother Mohammad-Reza.
Formed in the 1960s, the IFM played a key role in the nation's Islamic revolution of 1979, with founder Mehdi Bazargan serving as prime minister of the post-revolutionary provisional government, said AFP – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
