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  Iran: Former President Rafsanjani’s son gets 15 years in prison

Iran: Former President Rafsanjani’s son gets 15 years in prison

AFP
Published : Mar 16, 2015, 1:17 am IST
Updated : Mar 16, 2015, 1:17 am IST

The son of Iran’s former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has been sentenced to 15 years in jail after being tried for security offences and financial crimes, state media said Sunday.

The son of Iran’s former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has been sentenced to 15 years in jail after being tried for security offences and financial crimes, state media said Sunday.

Mehdi Hashemi was accused of involvement in massive protests that followed Iran’s disputed presidential election in 2009, and after being threatened with arrest he left for Britain.

The now 45-year-old was arrested after returning to Tehran in September 2012, and although initially bailed three months later he was rearrested and put on trial. His conviction relates to national security matters as well as fraud and embezzlement, judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejeie was quoted as saying on its official website and in state media.

Hashemi has 20 days to appeal his conviction, the reports said.

The 15-year jail term, if confirmed by a secondary court, would be one of the heaviest ever handed down to a family member of such a high-ranking official.

Hashemi supported the so-called Green Movement led by defeated reformist candidates.