Court Upholds Death Penalty for Arab Rebels
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The Supreme Court has confirmed death sentences for five Iranian Arab separatists convicted in bombings near the Iraqi border, state-run Iranian television reported.
“The Supreme Court sentenced five people to death on charges of involvement in explosions in Ahvaz,” the report said, but gave no details. Calls to judiciary officials were not immediately returned.
The five men were indicted in the bombings in January this year and in June and October 2005. Ahvaz is the capital of oil-rich Khuzestan, in southwest Iran, bordering Iraq.
The three blasts, which killed 23 people and wounded dozens, appeared to have been linked to unrest among Iranian Arabs, who account for about 3% of the national population and live mostly in Khuzestan.
Human Rights Watch had urged a retrial.
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