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10 Iranian Jews Convicted of Spying for Israel
Ten Iranian Jews Saturday were sentenced to prison terms of four to 13 years on charges of spying for Israel, while three others were acquitted, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.
Hamid Tefeleen, the main defendant among the 13 Iranian Jews arrested in March 1999, were sentenced to 13 years in prison, his lawyer Shirzad Rahmani told IRNA in Shiraz, capital of the southern Fars Province, where the verdict was issued.
"The verdict issued by the court is unfair and my client has not had any activity in the espionage network," Rahmani said, insisting that the court lacked any evidence for its verdict.
Meanwhile, head of the provincial judiciary chief Hussein Ali Amiri said that the 10 Iranian Jews and two Muslims accused of the same crimes were sentenced by the revolutionary court. The punishments included jail terms, whipping and cash fines.
He said that the other three Jews, who had been out on bail since February, and two other Muslims were acquitted, adding that the final 71-page verdict on the case would be made public later in the day.
The 13 Jews along with four Muslims were arrested last year in Shiraz, more than 800 kilometers south of the capital of Tehran. Court hearings for those accused started in the southern city on April 13. In all, eight defendants had confessed to passing on classified information to Israel and having links with Israel's security service, four had pleaded innocent, and one acknowledged passing information but insisted that his action did not constitute espionage.
In the past few days, there has been debate in Iran about whether the Jews would be sentenced to death, with the judiciary officials divided on the issue.
The arrest and trial of the Iranian Jews sparked protests from Israel and Western countries who demanded Iran to release them. But Iran insists that the case has nothing to do with religious beliefs and no foreign country should interfere in its domestic affairs.
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