Report: Iran Jails Reformist Former Vice President

Hossein Marashi

An Iranian appeals court has reportedly confirmed a one-year prison sentence for a former vice president for spreading propaganda against the Islamic republic during the postelection turmoil.

Opposition websites, the semi-official Fars news agency, and an unidentified close relative of Hossein Marashi said he was taken into custody late on March 18.

The court ruling was said to have included a ban on political activity for Marashi, a member of the centrist Executives of Construction Party.

Claims of fraud during President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's June reelection led to mass street protests and a crackdown on the opposition by the authorities.

compiled from agency reports