The retrial of Iranian dissident Hashem Aghajari opened...

The retrial of Iranian dissident Hashem Aghajari opened in Tehran, with the hardline judiciary allowing a public hearing and all charges that could lead to the death penalty dropped. After nearly two years locked away from public view, the Tehran University history professor appeared weak and complained of being held for months in solitary confinement with the shadow of execution hanging over him. But Judge Mohammad Eslami confirmed during the hearing that the disabled war veteran no longer faced death for having called for a reformation in Iran's state Shiite Muslim religion. Instead of upholding original charges equivalent to apostacy and blasphemy, Aghajari was accused of insulting religious sanctities, propagating against the regime and spreading false information. His charge sheet, read out by prosecutor general Reza Jafari, numbered 21 pages and also covered six years of Aghajari's writing prior to his arrest. If convicted on all the counts -- to which he has pleaded not guilty -- he could face a total sentence of between five and 10 years in jail. The prosecutor requested a heavy sentence due to Aghajari's "continued crimes". Aghajari had been sentenced to death in his first trial, behind closed doors, in the western city of Hamedan in November 2002. After the verdict sparked widespread student protests, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei intervened and ordered a retrial.