Iran's hard-line judiciary dropped all charges against...

Iran's hard-line judiciary dropped all charges against dissident academic Hashem Aghajari that could lead to the death penalty, finally backing down in an affair that has sparked widespread protests.
"The charges of insulting the prophet and denying religious principles, both of which are considered apostasy and are punishable by death, were not upheld," Aghajari's lawyer, Saleh Nikbakht, told AFP. He said that Aghajari was now facing a lesser charge of "insulting religious sanctities", which carried a maximum sentence of one to five years in jail.
Speaking after new charges were read out ahead of the second re-trial of the Tehran University history professor -- due to begin on July 3 -- the lawyer said he was now confident Aghajari would "not be sentenced to death".
Aghajari had been convicted of blasphemy by a judge in the western city of Hamedan in November 2002 after he called for a reformation in Iran's state Shiite Muslim religion.
He had said in a speech to students there that Muslims were not "monkeys" and "should not blindly follow" religious leaders.