Death sentence for academic "inappropriate": Khatami

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Thursday, November 14, 2002

Wednesday, November 13, 2002 - 2002 IranMania.com

TEHRAN, Nov 13 (AFP) - Embattled President Mohammad Khatami on Wednesday broke his silence over the sentencing to death for blasphemy of a prominent academic and close ally, describing the verdict as "inappropriate".

©2002 AP Photo/Hasan Sarbakhshian President Mohammad Khatami speaks during a gathering of Iran's university presidents in Tehran, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2002. Thousands of Tehran University students and some teachers boycotted classes for a fourth day on Tuesday to protest the death sentence imposed on Hashem Aghajari, a prominent professor convicted of insulting Islam and questioning hard-line clerics. Iran's national flag is on background.

"This verdict was inappropriate. I personally do not accept such practices," Khatami was quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA.

"Such a verdict should never have been issued and I hope that this issue will soon be resolved," the president said.

Dissident activist Hashem Aghajari, a disabled veteran of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war and an ally of the president, was condemned to death by a court in the western city of Hamedan a week ago.

The history lecturer was arrested in August after saying in a speech that Muslims "should not blindly" follow religious leaders and calling for a "religious renewal" of Shiite Islam.

The death sentence from the conservative-controlled judiciary has provoked widespread criticism, even from prominent conservatives, and sparked five straight days of protests at university campuses.

-- Anonymous, November 14, 2002


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