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Alert

Cartoonist's and editor's cases to be tried by the Islamic Revolutionary Court, Justice Minister asks for "highest penalty"

(CRN/IFEX) - The following is a 21 June 2006 CRN statement:

Cartoonists Rights Network Canada: Iranian Cartoonist will be Tried in the Islamic Revolutionary Court

TORONTO, ONTARIO - 06/21/2006 - On June 13, the Prosecutor's Office in Charge of Investigating Government Employees' Offenses referred the case of Tehran daily "Iran's" cartoonist and its editor-in-chief to the Islamic Revolutionary Court.

Cartoonist Mana Neyestani and his editor-in-chief Mehrdad Qassemfar will be tried in the Islamic Revolutionary Court for inciting ethnic unrest. A Neyestani cartoon triggered protests and violence among the Turkish-speaking population in northwestern parts of Iran after appearing in the weekly supplement "Iran Jomeh".

The Islamic Revolutionary Court usually does not deal with cases of this nature, and normally deals with major crimes such as disrupting the national economy, jeopardizing national security and large-scale drug and human trafficking.

On June 12, the Iranian minister of justice announced that the judiciary had asked the court to punish the accused with the "highest penalty" available. He said that the criminal action taken by Neyestani is not related to the press laws and only the Revolutionary Court is authorized to try the case.

The hearings are usually not open to the public and are held behind closed doors. There will not be a jury. A single judge alone will rule in the case.

Neyestani has been held in custody since 23 May in the Evin prison and has been interrogated several times. The Neyestani family has also faced death threats from members of the Azeri minority group.