Iran has been in the technology news a lot lately. From reports of creating their own Internet, to various cyber attacks against the country, they have been making headlines frequently. Earlier this month a video game designer was sentenced to death for allegedly spying for the CIA. Now Guardian is reporting that another developer will be executed, this time for allegedly developing pornographic websites.
While details of the case are sketchy, it appears that 35-year-old Saeed Malekpour was arrested in Iran in 2008 for developing a piece of software that makes uploading photos to websites easier. According to his wife, Malekpour was unaware that the software was being used for a pornography site and that he was not running the site himself. The official charges state that Malekpour was, “designing and moderating adult content websites, acting against the national security, insulting and desecrating the principles of Islam, and agitating the public mind.”
The death sentence was announced in early January but after an outpour of public support, the Iranian supreme court announced that the charges would be reevaluated. Now it appears that the sentencing is complete and the ruling was upheld.
It’s shocking in today’s day and age to think that developing a piece of non-malicious code could possibly lead to imprisonment, let alone death. There’s no explanation on why the court decided to uphold the ruling after the June announcement.
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