Iran singer gets five-year jail term
— “An Iranian singer, Mohsen Namjoo, has been sentenced in absentia to a five-year jail term for ridiculing the Koran holy book in a song, reformist daily Etemad Melli reported on Tuesday.”
— “‘He was sentenced on June 9 to five years in jail for insulting sanctities, ridiculing the Koran and dishonouring the holy book of the Muslims,’ it quoted a Koran expert and plaintiff in the case, Abbas Salimi Namin, as saying.”
— “Fars news agency, quoting an unnamed judge involved in the case, said Namjoo who has moved to Vienna was convicted for ‘his unconventional singing of the Koran,’ in a private recording four years ago.”
— “Namjoo, who fuses traditional Iranian music with pop and jazz, has also sang in solidarity with protesters who took to the streets after the Islamic republic’s disputed June 12 presidential election.”