Iranian journalist sentenced to eight years in jail

     Saam Mahmoudi Sarabi, an Iranian journalist, has been sentenced to eight years in jail

and a 10-year ban from media activities in Iran.

Nedaye Sabz Azadi's website reports that the sentenced journalist's lawyer has reported that his client was charged with "assembly and collusion against national security, propaganda against the regime, publishing falsehood and insulting the leader."   Mahmoudi Sarabi's sentence has been approved by the appellate court and forwarded to Evin Prison.   Mahmoudi Sarabi was arrested in March of 2011 and released after more than eight months in jail. The authorities previously had held him in jail for 44 days for writing a poem about the alleged confessions of political prisoners following the 2009 elections protests and for writing an open letter to MirHosein Mousavi, one of the leaders of the opposition.   After the controversial election of 2009, the crackdown on Iranian journalists and reporters has been ratcheted up by the Islamic Republic, and opposition groups report that in the past two years 108 reporters have been arrested, and while some have been released, many still remain behind bars.   Source: Radio Zamaneh