IRAN: THREE SENTENCED TO DEATH IN DRIVE AGAINST ECONOMIC CRIMES

October 1, 2018:

Special courts set up in a drive against financial crime have sentenced three people to death in Iran, state television reported on September 30, 2018 as the country faces renewed U.S. sanctions and a public outcry against profiteering and corruption.
A judiciary official also warned truck drivers holding a nationwide strike over pay and high prices of "harsh penalties" if they continue their protests, state media said.
The special Islamic revolutionary courts were set up last month to try suspects quickly after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called for "swift and just" legal action to confront an "economic war" by foreign enemies.
Judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, quoted by state TV, said the courts handed down out death sentences to three defendants after convicting them of "spreading corruption on earth", a capital offense under Iran's Islamic laws.
Mohseni Ejei did not name the three but said the sentences could be appealed to the supreme court, the TV reported.