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Iran’s Supreme Court has now confirmed the death sentence of Iranian-born web programmer Saeed Malekpour, a Canadian permanent resident. Malekpour was convicted of “crimes against Islam” and “spreading corruption on Earth” — which have emerged as classic trumped-up charges in the Iranian pattern of the criminalization of innocence. For supposedly creating pornography websites in Iran, Malekpour is set to receive the death penalty.

Malekpour maintains his innocence, insisting that image-uploading software he developed as a web programmer was used by an illicit site without his knowledge or consent. The international community spoke out against his death sentence when it was first handed down, and Iran moved to suspend it; however, with the escalation of rhetoric between the West and Iran —and the case disappearing from the radar screen — Malekpour is back on death row.

When he was first arbitrarily arrested in 2008 — while visiting his ailing father in Iran — Malekpour was taken to the notorious Evin prison in Iran, where he spent a year in brutal solitary confinement without charge, without access to legal representation or visitation. He subsequently “confessed” to his “crimes” on state television, a not unknown form of show trial.

Writing from prison, Malekpour says his initial confession to the charge had been “extracted under pressure, physical and psychological torture” as well a... >>>