by WorldTribune Staff, March 13, 2017
An Iranian couple who were accused of “throwing mixed parties” and forming a “new cult” have been sentenced to death.
The couple, an Iranian and a U.S.-Iranian dual national, were arrested last July after being accused of promoting moral corruption, Financial Times reported on March 12.
Teheran prosecutor-general Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi said the man and woman had been sentenced because they established “a new cult” and made “alcoholic beverages, encouraged vice . . . through throwing mixed parties [and] . . . exhibiting and selling obscene images at gallery.”
Dolatabadi said the man, a U.S.-Iranian dual national, kept 4,000 liters of alcohol at his home in Teheran. Alcohol is illegal in Iran.
The couple reportedly had close contact with foreigners through their art gallery in Teheran.
“Iran has arrested several Iranians holding dual nationality in recent months in a move analysts suggest is intended to intimidate those associated with foreign businesses or who have social connections with foreigners,” the Financial Times report said.