Student activist gets one year jail time in Iran

Iran Focus:

Tehran, Iran, Aug. 22 – An Iranian student activist was sentenced to one year in prison for organising anti-government demonstrations, the head of a student organisation said on Monday.

Amir-Hossein Balali, a former student activist in Amir-Kabir University of Technology, had also been accused of inciting public anger against the state during the years 1998-2001, Yashar Qajar said. He also faced charges of insulting Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Balali had previously been arrested in the summer 2001 and held in solitary confinement for one month on similar charges.According to Qajar, Balali has been active in setting up anti-government demonstrations on campus.