Iranian court reduces sentences for 10 convicted Jews

TEHRAN, Iran - An appeals court reduced the prison terms for 10 Jews convicted of cooperating with Israel, saying yesterday that though they had helped Iran's arch enemy, they hadn't formed a gang or tried to recruit agents.

The United States and Israel, which denies the convicted men were its agents, criticized the court for not going far enough.

"Israel calls upon the international community and every civilized person to severely condemn these harsh sentences and to continue working with Israel to achieve the immediate release of the prisoners," the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement in Jerusalem.

But Hossein Ali Amiri, judiciary chief of southern Fars province, where the Jews were tried, said yesterday's decision was final.

He said a branch of the Fars appeals court annulled two of the three convictions against each of the Jews and reduced the stiffest penalty from 13 to nine years. Lesser prison terms also were reduced.

In Washington, the State Department said it was disappointed the court did not overturn all the convictions.

"The United States has previously condemned and continues to condemn the process by which 13 members of the Iranian Jewish community were tried and 10 sentenced without benefit of internationally recognized due process," spokesman Richard Boucher said.

From the White House, spokesman Joe Lockhart said the president was "deeply disappointed" by the court decision, calling the proceedings "inconsistent with the rule of law."

The United States remains ''determined to see these men receive justice,'' Lockhart said, urging Iran to commute the sentences.

Jurists have questioned whether the closed proceedings could be fair when there was no jury and the judge also acted as prosecutor. Defense lawyers said the prosecution's case relied solely on confessions made after long periods of detention.

In New York, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan issued a statement saying he was "encouraged" by the reduced sentences and hoped "further steps to alleviate the plight of these citizens will be considered."

Foreign governments, human rights organizations and Jewish groups had urged Iran to ensure justice in a case that was seen as a show of power by hard-line clerics jostling with reformists in this Muslim country.

Israeli President Moshe Katsav, who was born in Iran, told reporters in Jerusalem there was no basis for the conviction of the Jews: "They are being used as a tool in a power struggle in Iran."

Although the lower court had found the Jews guilty of espionage, the appeals court said it was "upholding" the conviction for "cooperation with Israel." The modification in the wording of the conviction was not immediately explained.

The appeals court found the 10 men innocent of belonging to an illegal ring and recruiting agents, the two other charges on which they had been convicted. Iran has no diplomatic ties and bans any contact with Israel, which it considers an arch-foe.

Amiri said the three-judge panel's decision Thursday was not a response to international or political pressure.

"The court found them deserving these sentences. They are all Iranian citizens and living in our country, regardless of their religion, they are living with us freely and we consider them fellow citizens, regardless of them being Jews or Muslims," Amiri told The Associated Press from the southern city of Shiraz.

"These sentences are the lowest possible sentences and we have used the ultimate of Islamic kindness and generosity," Amiri said. "According to the law, these charges could have brought execution."

But Phil Baum, executive director of the New York-based American Jewish Congress, said no death sentences were issued only because Iran came under international scrutiny. He called for continued international pressure to persuade Iranian authorities to throw out all the convictions and free the 10.

"Innocent people do not serve terms in prison - and not one credible shred of evidence was produced at the closed trial of the 10 to indicate guilt," he said in a statement faxed to the AP in Cairo, Egypt.

The head of Iran's Jewish Society, Haroun Yashayaii, said he hoped Iranian authorities would consider granting amnesty to the 10.

Defense lawyer Esmail Naseri said from Shiraz that he welcomed annulment of two of the charges against his clients, "but we still believe that they are all innocent."

It was not immediately clear when the 10 men would be eligible for parole, but Iranian laws allows for the early release of convicts during national holidays and on the basis of good behavior.

Amiri said the time already served while awaiting trial would be taken off the sentences. Arrests of the 10, along with three others acquitted in July, began in March 1999.

Dani Tefilin, the 30-year-old shoe salesman identified as the main defendant and originally sentenced to 13 years, had his sentence reduced to nine years. The others received reduced sentences ranging from two to eight years.