Today's Top Iran Stories (April 7, 2009)

Today's Top Iran Stories (April 7, 2009) - 1.Iran confirmed prison sentences against three accused in the soft overthrow case

The Tehran Appeal Court confirmed prison sentences today against Arash and Kamiar Alaei, and also Sylvia Hartounian, accised of preparing the groundwork for a soft overthrow of the Islamic Republic.

Arash and Kamiar Alaei, two doctors who have been active in raising awareness and in the fight against AIDS, were arrested early last summer and after seven years incarceration, were sentenced respectively to six and three years in prison, by the Branch 15 of Tehrans Revolution Court.

Hartounian, a reproductive medicine specialist for the international organization IREX, was arrested midsummer 2008 and sentenced, along with the Alaei brothers, and at the same branch of the court to three years in prison.

Robert Wood, US State Department spokesperson, today called on Irans Judiciary to immediately release Sylvia Hartounian who is and Iranian-American of Armenian origin.

2.Karrubi to Jannati: Are you an observer or a player in the elections?

Mehdi Karrubi, former speaker for the sixth Majlis [parliament], a candidate in the tenth round of the presidential elections, and secretary-general of the Etemaad Melli [National Trust] Party, last night sent a letter to the Guardian Council in which he strongly protested against at Ahmad Jannatis recent remarks made at a meeting with the councils election observers, during which he expressed support for the current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

According to Saham News website, in this strongly-worded letter to the Guardian Council, he described Jannatis move in direct violation of the stated policy of Irans leader.

Karroubi furthermore called Jannatis move an effort to change the role of the Guardian Council from a legal institution to a political party. He wrote: I reserve the right to be worried about the healthy staging of the elections. In fact, when the elder of the Guardian Council gives support to a specific ...

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