A lawyer for an Iranian professor sentenced to death...

A lawyer for an Iranian professor sentenced to death for insulting Islam appealed the verdict, saying he was acting against his client's wishes a day before the verdict was to become final. Hashem Aghajari, a history professor at Tarbiat-e-Modarres, or Teachers Training University in Tehran, had refused to appeal the sentence, challenging the judiciary to carry it out. The sentence had prompted weeks of protests by students who criticized the judiciary. ``My client still doesn't want to appeal the verdict, but the power of attorney empowers me to take such action in order not to give any pretext to the judiciary,'' lawyer Saleh Nikbakht said.