عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

Iran Court Sentences 2 Students to 16-year Prison Terms Each

A man looks at prison cells | Reuters/Ints Kalnins
A man looks at prison cells | Reuters/Ints Kalnins
TT
TT

Iran Court Sentences 2 Students to 16-year Prison Terms Each

A man looks at prison cells | Reuters/Ints Kalnins
A man looks at prison cells | Reuters/Ints Kalnins

A court in Iran has sentenced two students to 16-year prison terms each on charges of endangering national security, the judiciary’s spokesman said Tuesday.

According to the spokesman, Zabihollah Khodaeian, the two sabotaged public facilities, tried to cooperate with opposition groups and spread propaganda against the system. These actions translated to 10-year, five and one -year prison terms, he added.

If an appeals court upholds the ruling, the 10-year term will go into effect, Khodaeian added.

The authorities detained the two students — Ali Younesi and Amir Hossein Moradi — of the prestigious Sharif Industrial University in 2020, prompting an outcry among students and teachers of the university, as well as by Amnesty International and various rights groups. Younesi and Moradi have been in custody since then, The Associated Press said.

Younesi’s lawyer Mostafa Nili said the students would appeal the verdict by the Iranian Revolutionary Court, which handles security-related charges.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

Aid Group: More than 10,000 Migrants Died this Year Trying to Reach Spain by Sea

FILE - Migrants crowd a wooden boat as they sail to the port in La Restinga on the Canary island of El Hierro, Spain, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Maria Ximena, File)
FILE - Migrants crowd a wooden boat as they sail to the port in La Restinga on the Canary island of El Hierro, Spain, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Maria Ximena, File)
TT
TT

Aid Group: More than 10,000 Migrants Died this Year Trying to Reach Spain by Sea

FILE - Migrants crowd a wooden boat as they sail to the port in La Restinga on the Canary island of El Hierro, Spain, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Maria Ximena, File)
FILE - Migrants crowd a wooden boat as they sail to the port in La Restinga on the Canary island of El Hierro, Spain, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Maria Ximena, File)

More than 10,000 migrants died while trying to reach Spain by sea this year, a report released by a Spanish migration rights group said on Thursday.
On average, that means 30 migrants died every day this year attempting to reach the country by boat, Caminando Fronteras (Walking Borders) said. Overall deaths rose 58% compared to last year, the report added, according to The Associated Press.
Tens of thousands of migrants left West Africa in 2024 for the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago close to the African coast that has increasingly been used as a stepping stone to continental Europe.
Caminando Fronteras said most of the 10,457 deaths recorded up until Dec. 15. took place along that crossing, the so-called Atlantic route — considered one of the world's most dangerous.
The organization compiles its figures from families of migrants and official statistics of those rescued. It included 1,538 children and 421 women among the dead. April and May were the deadliest months, the report said.
Caminando Fronteras also noted a “sharp increase” in 2024 in boats leaving from Mauritania, which it said became the main departure point on the route to the Canary Islands.
In February, Spain pledged 210 million euros (around $218 million) in aid to Mauritania to help it crack down on human smugglers and prevent boats from taking off.
Spain’s interior ministry says more than 57, 700 migrants reached Spain by boat until Dec. 15 this year, a roughly 12% increase from the same period last year. The vast majority of them came through the Atlantic route.