Execution of (Canadian) web programmer in Iran may be imminent

[Ruby the Liberal]

(CNN) -- A computer programmer from Canada faces imminent execution in Iran for the actions of another person, which he had no control over, a human rights group says.

Saeed Malekpour wrote a program to upload photos to the Internet, an accomplishment that could cost him his life, Amnesty International reported Friday. Authorities in the Islamic Republic claimed his program was used by someone else to upload pornography and charged him with "insulting and desecrating Islam."

Malekpour, who is a Toronto resident, was arrested in October 2008 while visiting relatives in Iran. He was convicted in a short trial and was sentenced to death in October 2011, according to Amnesty International.

Iran's Supreme Court confirmed the sentence on January 17. Malekpour's lawyers have been unable to ascertain the whereabouts of his court files since Tuesday and fear this could be an indicator that an executioner could carry out the sentence soon, Amnesty said. A court official suggested to the lawyers that the file had been sent to the Office for the Implementation of Sentences, according to Amnesty.

More: http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/18/world/meast/iran-programmer-execution/index.html

[MADem]

1. Why am I not surprised?

The conduct of these animals who have the Iranian people under their vicious thumbs is reprehensible. The sooner they are overthrown, the better.

Gee, wonder how they'll kill the poor guy? Hang him from a crane, stone him to death, firing squad?

[Ruby the Liberal]

2. I saw another article today where the EU is trying to step in.

Haven't seen anything yet about whether Harper's government is trying to intervene.

The repression there is mind boggling. Sentenced this poor guy to death because he created a technology that someone else used to upload "porn"? To the mullah crowd, that could mean someone showing off a new hairstyle.

I saw in another thread that you used to live there. I have friends whose family left in 1979 when the revolution was happening and things got so violent. The Persian people deserve better, IMO.

[MADem]

3. The shah beat me out of the country, but not by all that much!

The people of Iran are first rate--the government, a total disaster.

This is really all about trying to stop people from uploading pictures of protests, I'm thinking--not porn!

[Leopolds Ghost]

4. Grrrr....

http://www.irannewsnow.com/2011/03/green-media-muses-uprising-iranian-style/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

So what's the sentence for the uploader? Is this really about the Green Revolution, i.e. anonymous computer programmers publishing censored media for the Twitter campaign? I'm really not sure which side of the aisle such programmers are working on in Iran these days, and maybe the Iranians don't know either. I suspect at this point it is not a Western-directed effort. Or was this guy siezed on a whim?

[Ruby the Liberal]

5. He was arrested in 2008

Green Revolution launched June of 2009. Still see Neda in my mind's eye when I recall that.

This is all about mullah control, IMO.