IRANIAN COURT OVERTURNS DEATH SENTENCE

Iran's Supreme Court overturned a death sentence against a hard-line Islamic vigilante for murdering a couple for immoral behavior in southeastern Iran, one of the victims' lawyers said. Ali Maleki, with the help of several accomplices, drowned Reza Nejadmalayeri and his fiance, Shohreh Nikpour, in a small pool in 2002 for violating rules against contact between unmarried men and women. The killings occurred near Kerman, 620 miles southeast of the capital Tehran. The Supreme Court's ruling was the fourth time it had overturned Maleki's death sentence, continuing a case that has caused widespread anger throughout Iran despite a news blackout by state media. Under Iran's Islamic law, the vigilantes can escape punishment if they prove their victims were morally corrupt. The next step in the case will be a determination by the Supreme Court of whether the attackers were correct in their beliefs, Ahmadi reported.