Ayatollah Mohammad Sajjadi, adviser to the State Supreme...

Ayatollah Mohammad Sajjadi, adviser to the State Supreme Court and one of three judges examining the sentence against Hashem Aghajari said that the death sentence given to the Iranian lecturer and member of the Islamic Revolution Mojahedin Organization, was "contrary to religious principles". "I studied the case and I carefully read all the defence statements made by the defendant and the charges that led to his being given a death sentence," Sajjadi said. Referring to Aghajari's description of religion as "an opiate for governments", the Supreme Court Adviser said: "One can see that for the defendant, the word opiate has not been used in the abstract sense of the word and he is referring to the sort of religion that may have become an instrument in the hands of governments throughout the course of history. However, it seems that the court's interpretation, which has dealt with this in abstract terms, is not correct ... In my view, sufficient care was not taken in dealing with this case and such charges should not have been brought against Aghajari".