Unwarranted harsh sentence for prominent human rights blogger

The Association in Defence of Academics deplores the sentences sought
by the prosecutor against Hossein Derakhshan, an Iranian-Canadian
blogger, as reported by Cyrus Farivar and Radio Free Europe.

The prosecutor sought the death penalty against Mr. Derakhshan for
insulting the the Prophet Muhammad; cooperating with hostile
governments and groups; spreading propaganda against the Islamic
system; spreading propaganda in favor of counterrevolutionary groups;
insulting Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and
president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad; creating and managing obscene Web
sites. These charges represent nothing else than a blatant attempt to
intimidate dissidents and those who would exercise their right of
expression. Such charges have no place in a society which respects
human rights or rational discussion as the basis of progress.

Mr. Derakhshan played an important role in making it easy to create
Persian-language blogs, a vital component of a free thinking Iranian
public sphere.

The fact that the sentence was instead set to 19.5 years in jail does
not mitigate the obvious fact that the charges are unwarranted and
politically motivated.