Iranian journalist released from jail

Tehran - The reformist Iranian journalist, Mr Mashallah Shamsolvaezin, serving a 30-month jail term since April 2000 for allegedly…

Tehran - The reformist Iranian journalist, Mr Mashallah Shamsolvaezin, serving a 30-month jail term since April 2000 for allegedly insulting Islam, was freed on bail yesterday, sources close to him said.

The 40-year-old journalist was prosecuted for publishing articles questioning capital punishment and the "eye for an eye" principle in force in Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Iran's conservative-dominated judiciary began a major campaign against the reformist press more than a year ago, closing more than 20 publications and arresting a number of journalists.