Iranian-American Scholar Is Sentenced in Iran

On Tuesday in Tehran, Iranian state media reported that Kian Tajbakhsh, an Iranian-American urban planner, has been convicted of fomenting unrest against the government and sentenced to more than 12 years in prison. The Associated Press reported that a lawyer for Mr. Tajbakhsh told Iran’s official Islamic Republic News Agency that he had received the verdict.

Mr. Tajbakhsh, who holds a doctorate in urban planning from Columbia University, was arrested on July 10, after a wave of protests by opposition supporters in Iran who said that the June 12 presidential election there was rigged.

The Farsi-language Iranian Web site Zamaaneh reported that the indictment against Mr. Tajbakhsh charged him with “propaganda activities” and acting against national security by working with the Open Society Institute, which is supported by George Soros. As The Lede explained in a previous post that touched on Mr. Tajbakhsh’s case, elements of the Iranian government have accused Mr. Soros, who finances democracy-building programs in many countries, of plotting to overthrow Iran’s Islamic system of government in what the authorities call a “velvet revolution.”

Article fromhere.