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Iran jails senior reformer for six years: Report

Mohsen Aminzadeh was one of many leading pro-reform figures detained after the presidential election in June, which plunged the Islamic Republic into turmoil and exposed widening establishment divisions.

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An Iranian court has sentenced a reformist former deputy foreign minister to six years in jail over his role in unrest that erupted after last year's disputed election, the ISNA news agency reported on Monday.

Mohsen Aminzadeh was one of many leading pro-reform figures detained after the presidential election in June, which plunged the Islamic Republic into turmoil and exposed widening establishment divisions.

He was a prominent supporter of defeated candidate Mirhossein Mousavi in the poll, which the opposition says was rigged to secure hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election.

The authorities have rejected the charge and portrayed the huge opposition protests that erupted after the vote as a Western-backed bid to undermine the Islamic state.

Opposition websites have urged people to take to the streets again on February 11, when Iran marks the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution. Police have warned that anti-government protesters will be firmly confronted.

Several other leading opposition supporters have earlier received jail terms on charges including acting against national security.

ISNA quoted Aminzadeh's lawyer, Abbas Shiri, as saying he was accused of taking part in illegal gatherings, planning to disturb Iran's security and also of spreading propaganda against the Islamic government system in interviews with foreign media.

"Rejecting the charges, I will submit the appeal within the legal period," Shiri said.

Thousands of people protesting against the conduct of the vote were arrested. Most of them have since been freed, though more than 80 people have been jailed for up to 15 years.

Last month, Iran hanged two people sentenced to death in post-vote trials. The West and human rights groups condemned the executions, accusing Iran of staging "show trials" and of seeking to intimidate the opposition.

Since November, three other leading reformers — former government spokesman Abdullah Ramezanzadeh, former vice president Mohammad Ali Abtahi and former deputy economy minister Mohsen Safaie Farahani -- have also received six-year jail terms.

Aminzadeh, Ramezanzadeh, Abtahi and Safaie Farahani held their government posts under the 1997-2005 presidency of Mohammad Khatami, who backed Mousavi in the  election.

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