Iran Condemns Two to Death for Running Porn Sites

TEHRAN—Iran reportedly sentenced two men to death Sunday for running porn sites. The news was issued by prosecutor general Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi by way of the government-run IRNA news agency, according to AFP. "Two administrators of porn sites have been sentenced to death in two different (court) branches and (the verdicts) have been sent to the supreme court for confirmation," Dolatabadi said. The names of the convicted were not given, and there is no indication whether they include Saeed Malekpour, who was reportedly sentenced to death in December for the same "crime." Malekpour, 35, an Iranian national who had moved to Canada in 2004 but returned to Iran in 2008 to visit his ill father, was accused of running a porn site in Canada, but his wife said he never built and moderated a porn site, as he was accused of doing, and that his online profile was used to create the site without his knowledge. In a letter from prison, Malekpour also said that he had been tortured into providing a confession. According to AFP, "Iran, China, Saudi Arabia and United States have the highest numbers of executions each year. Adultery, murder, drug trafficking and other major crimes are all punishable by death in the Islamic republic."