Iran Sentences 3 To Death In Post-Election Mass Opposition Trial: Via HuffingtonPost.com

TEHRAN, Iran — Three defendants in Iran's mass trial of opposition figures accused of fueling the country's postelection unrest have been sentenced to death, an Iranian news agency reported Saturday.

Two of them were convicted of membership in a monarchist group seeking to topple Iran's Islamic Republic and restore a monarchy, the semiofficial ISNA news agency reported, quoting judiciary official Zahed Bashiri Rad.

The third defendant was convicted of having ties to a terrorist group for his alleged links to the People's Mujahedeen, an armed opposition group, ISNA quoted Rad as saying.

The three are the first defendants to be sentenced to death since the trial began in August.

More than 100 prominent opposition figures and activists are accused of offenses ranging from rioting to spying and seeking to topple Iran's Islamic rulers through what authorities have called a planned "soft overthrow."

The days of street protests were triggered by allegations of fraud in the June 12 re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The judiciary official would only identify the three sentenced to death by their initials, the news agency reported. He said their lawyers have been informed of the rulings and that they can appeal the sentences, ISNA reported.

On Friday, Amnesty International identified one of those sentenced to death as Mohammad Reza Ali Zamani.

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