A prominent Iranian human rights lawyer who represented political activists is reported to have been jailed for 18 months and banned from practicing law for 10 years.
Opposition websites Jaras and Kalemeh reported that Khalil Bahramian was found guilty of "spreading propaganda against the regime" and "insulting the head of the judiciary."
Bahramian is a member of the Paris-based International Committee against Execution. He has represented a large number of political activists, including Kurdish teacher Farzad Kamangar, who was hanged in Tehran's Evin prison in May 2010 along with four other prisoners.
Bahramian told RFE/RL's Radio Farda at the time that the execution of those five violated the law. He further criticized the judiciary, saying courts act arbitrarily.
Several other Iranian activists have been handed prison terms over the past week. Mahboubeh Karami, a women's rights activist and member of the One Million Signatures Campaign, was jailed for three years.
Student activist Shohreh Kazemi was given a three-month suspended sentence for "spreading propaganda against the regime through writing slogans and distributing CDs."