Iran death sentence upheld for Benyamin Naghdi, IHR says

Iran's supreme court has upheld the death sentence of Benyamin Naghdi, a 26-year-old arrested during January anti-government protests in Shiraz, the Norway-based rights group Iran Human Rights said Thursday.

The group said Naghdi, an MMA fighter and kickboxer, was condemned to death by the Revolutionary Court in Shiraz after being arrested for spraying a fire extinguisher at security forces on motorbikes. It said his lawyer has filed for a retrial.

Iran Human Rights quoted Naghdi's lawyer, Mostafa Nili, as saying the charges included membership of groups disrupting national security, assembly and collusion to commit crimes against national security, and propaganda activities against the system.

Amnesty International said Naghdi was convicted on the basis of a forced confession broadcast on state television and found guilty of corruption on earth, which carries a death sentence.

Rights groups expressed alarm that Iranian authorities were poised to execute more young men accused of taking part in January anti-government protests. Thirteen UN special rapporteurs said Monday that Iran's authorities appeared intent on quashing any form of dissent.

Iranian officials have recently carried out executions nearly every week, including public hangings in Isfahan, according to the supplied accounts from rights groups and officials.