Iran Sentences Two Journalists to Death

TEHRAN, Iran — The Iranian judiciary confirmed that two journalists from the country's Kurdish minority have been sentenced to death, state-run press reported yesterday. The verdict is a rare for journalists in Iran, despite constant state pressure on press and broadcast workers.

The two men, Adnan Hassanpour and Hiva Boutimar, were sentenced on the charge of moharebeh, a term Iran uses to describe a major crime against Islam and the state, judiciary spokesman Ali Reza Jamshidi told the Islamic Republic News Agency.

Moharebeh literally means "fighting" in classical Arabic.

But IRNA did not specify what precise crime the journalists were accused of, and it was unclear when or how the sentences would be carried out.

The journalists were deemed activists in Sanandaj, the capital of the western Iranian province of Kurdistan, which borders Iraq.