Iran's Judiciary Announces Review of Aghajari's Death Sentence

Iran's judiciary announced it will review the death sentence of a university professor who was condemned for questioning the clerical regime. Hossein Mir Mohammad Sadeghi, a spokesman for the judiciary, stated on Tuesday in Tehran that the judiciary has decided to reconsider the sentence against Hashem Aghajari at the order of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Aghajari is a reformist university professor. Ayatollah Khamenei issued the order for a review last week, but the judiciary spokesman did not announce a date for the review. Meanwhile, Iranian officials forced reformist student supporters to halt demonstrations related to the death sentence against Aghajari for two weeks. Student leaders say university heads have refused to allow any further demonstrations on campus. In Washington, an American senator expressed support for the reformist students' protests in Iran. Senator Sam Brownback from Kansas stated that Iranian students are demanding basic freedoms and praised their efforts towards establishing democracy in Iran. Political tensions arise in Iran as reformist President Mohammad Khatami attempts to reduce the influence of conservatives who control key power institutions. On Sunday, thousands of conservatives in Iran held a demonstration in Tehran condemning the students' protests. At least 10,000 people, mostly members of the hardline Basij militia, gathered in front of the former U.S. embassy in Tehran, chanting slogans against America and Israel. Hashem Aghajari was sentenced to death by a Hamadan court after making statements against the clergy, saying that Muslims are not 'monkeys' to blindly imitate what the ruling clerics dictate. During their protests, students have also called for greater freedom of expression and political reforms.