E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSPlease click on the "cc" option at the bottom of the video screen for English subtitles
According to a report in the U.K.'s Guardian newspaper, Saeed Malekpour faces imminent execution.
Iranian authorities picked up Malekpour in 2008 and accused him of contributing to an Internet pornography site, which is a crime in the theocratic country. He was confined to solitary confinement in Tehran for a year without legal counsel, the Guardian reported.
He was sentenced to death a year later after confessing to a series of crimes on a state television program.
Malekpour's family has asserted that Malekpour is a permanent resident of Canada and that he wrote software for uploading photographs that was used on the porn site without his knowledge.
His sister, Maryam Malekpour, said in an interview with the Iranian website Roozonline that Iran's supreme court had confirmed the death sentence.
"Saeed is in imminent danger of execution," Maryam Nayeb Yazdi, a human rights activist based in Toronto, told the Guardian. "He has never been provided with a fair trial at any point during this horrific and twisted ordeal."
Activists and concerned citizens in Canada have campaigned for Malekpour's release.
More from msnbc.com and NBC News:
Leave a Comment:
What do people not understand about Don't go to Iran?
Ironically, Iran has a real unemployment rate far lower than the U.S.
Maybe people get the same thrill as bungee jumping or sky diving?
@Jungleboogie,
Sorry, but Iran is currently estimated to have an unemployment rate far higher than the US and worsening daily. This is despite a very inefficient public sector that emphasizes filling numerous low-paying government jobs with regime sympathizers. It is considered around 18%+ for 2011 and rising rapidly. You have to remember that NO enemployed women are counted in Iran. Unemployment in Iran is especially high (and increasing rapidly) among young educated professionals as it is in most Muslim countries.
The true unemployment rate in Iran is pegged at 13.8%, I'd agree though Chris they probably fudged the numbers and it is closer to 18%.
Unfortunately the true unemployment rate here is 19%.
If you include the unemployed women, as we do in the US, the real unemployment rate in Iran would be over 50%.
Not that any of this is relevant to the article, which is about Iran having no legal system, and arbitrarily executing people. They are giving Rick Perry some real competition in the execution business.
So to do our part to aid the rebellion in Iran, should we Google for Iran-porn?
Man, wtf is with Iran? They're completely nuts...even more so these days!
gtouch ... that was my first thought, too. At this point, as callous as this may sound, it isn't worth being concerned about westerners who get arrested in Iran or North Korea. Those individuals are obviously an evolutionary dead end, at least in terms of common sense, and we wouldn't want them reproducing anyway.
jungleboogie- way off point, but 1 out of 5 Americans are out of work?
I know times are tough, but quit exaggerating...
1
Iran is angry that Canada wants to build a pipeline through the United States. Iran is a sad little nation that feels the need to bang a big drum to get attention in this world!
doyourhomework,America!, you may want to do your homework and look at the real stats that the government doesn't put out. The government doesn't include like self employed people who are out of work, long time discouraged workers and such. They pad the numbers and you believe them....
@ Morgs74
Agreed! The U3 measure of unemployment is utter garbage.
I wish that news sources would pull from the U6 numbers. But then again, no one in the media or politics wants to talk about the actual situation in America (which is far far worse, even before the recession).
Morgs,
Yeah but it hasn't included those figures for decades. The reason for the statistics isn't so much the number itself, which isn't totally accurate as you point out, but no number is accurate, every set of data points that you can use has issues, some more severe than the others. What IS important however is the ability to compare results from one time period (moment in time) to another, and you can't do that if you start mucking about with exactly what data points are included in your figures all the time.
Jonathan is right. If the statistics are redefined, or if the media suddenly started quoted another set of measurements, there'd be no comparability.
But, even if one believed that these unemployed should be included in the unemployment statistics, how would one measure them accurately. How does the government know the difference between a "discouraged worker" and one who has no intention of working for whatever reason. How would measure the number of self-employed workers who have no clients vs. those who have done well and have decided to take a sabbatical between assignments?
barry,
the important parts of why you might want to consider the other data points can be gleaned through other means, for example, new jobs stats, etc...
As to the difference between a discouraged worker, well you can look at the job losses, that is something that was obviously taken into consideration. I personally think that the details of what is included in the statistic isn't that important, as long as the consumers of those figures (no the public isn't the consumer, it is the analysts that crunch the numbers that are the consumers) know and understand how the figures were arrived at.
It's ok to sodomize a goat in Iran, but don't write code that can be used on a porn site.
Maybe it was goat porn?
Maybe it was "goat porn" and they used really ugly goats?
Maybe it was baaaaad goat porn code and the Ayatollah couldn't watch his favorite show
Maybe the goat did it.
Sounds like the GOP if they had their way- Theocratic rule!
Where's all the neocons & teabaggers to blame it on Obama ?
Why do you miss them........if so please post that on postings that have to do with American politics. Otherwise you just look.........lost.
Oh, well gtouch, according to neocons & teabaggers since Nov. 4, 2008 Obama is a socialist / communist / national socialist facist muslim terrorist with a bone through his nose Kenyan who and in this case hasn't bomb bomb bomd'd and invaded Iran to save this muslim-Canadian because Obama halted the Keystone pipeline ...
How am I doin' so far ?
neo·con·ser·va·tive
noun\ËnÄ-Å-kÉn-ËsÉr-vÉ-tiv\
Definition of NEOCONSERVATIVE
1
: a former liberal espousing political conservatism
This is from Websters. I'm not sure you know what a neocon is. So you are saying that former "liberals" are posting bad things about Obama. I guess that could be true his numbers have really fallen.
Look I'm an independent don't really care about all the name calling but go ahead if it makes you feel better. I just don't think neocon is the word that you want to use it kind of sounds like a lot of "Liberals" have gone conservative since Obama has been in office.
You may want to exchange "neocon" with "extreme right wingers" if that is what you are trying to get across.
You might like this definition from Conservapedia gtouch ~ http://conservapedia.com/Neoconservatism
A neoconservative (also spelled "neo-conservative"; colloquially, neocon) in American politics is someone presented as a conservative but who actually favors big government, interventionalism, and a hostility to religion in politics and government.
Neoconservatives favor expensive foreign interventionalism with massive federal spending, often to replace a dictator with a new system of government that may be worse.
Sometimes this is expressed as a desire to install a democracy in a culture that may be incompatible with it.
The neoconservative position was discredited in the failure of democracy in the Iranian elections of 2009.
Well damn ... LOL.
exodix - why do you insist on making this a partisan issue? We're talking goat porn here!
Exotix is a mentally deficient person who sees a story and automatically has to turn it into a partisan issue. Partisan politics is why this county is in the trouble it is in and Exotix is one of those individuals who blindly follows one party no matter what.
So why was this one in Iran?
His name is Saeed Malekpour. Sound like a born in Canada Canuck to you, eh?
@Devil right...because only people with "Canadian sounding" names are born in Canada. smh
Not all nations are run by people who deserve the term "civilized."
Why do Westerners continue to go to Iran when they have to know it is run by religious whackjobs?
Wasn't pron found on the computer of bin Laden? The world leading muslim terrorist can watch porn---but no one else???
Why was this guy in Iran any way---programing can be done from any place in the world---look at how much is done in India for US companies who never even go to or send reps to India.
Why are countries given credance to this hell hole of terrorism??? Oh I forgot---the worlds leading power is run by a closet muslim and he doesn't want to insult his terrorist brothers.
It always has to revert to politics...Get along politically folks - maybe it will rub off on Washington and something might finally get done...
Now, how many goats does it take to porn up a website??
GED
Yeah apparently they found 'bhurka bangers' and 'sheiks and freaks' on his computer.
Iran knows very easily who they will arrest next and imprison. They know as soon as they issue the entry visas to these people. Why would anyone travel to Iran in the first place? It is not friendly to anyone, including its own citizens. They can make up laws to suit their own purposes, and there are NO civil rights there. Just stay home and do not even think of going there.
It was certainly friendly to my wife and I last month... starting with the immigration guy at the airport who was nicer, faster and more courteous than most of the guys doing the same job in the US. Within the first 4 hours in the country we were invited to someones home, offered a meal and made to talk to a guy on the phone (guy at the table next to us during dinner handed us his phone and said please talk to my friend - he'd love speaking with an American).
Can say enough good things about the people there. The government is screwed up tho... and has very little support among most Iranians.
Iranians in the Diaspora do not need entry visas to visit Iran...they have Iranian passports. So your theory does not float.
The perverted ayatollahs like their equally perverted nazi mentors did... are running amok both internally and internationally. This news is obviously not a surprise..It`s a everyday occurence and a matter of policy.Most of it doesn`t even get in the news. Talk to Iranians who have escaped from there..It`s nazi Germany all over again .both home and abroad, A terrorist bomb.a woman stoned to death...on and on..
Why does Iran love to kill her own sons? Why, Iran, why? Why do you love blood so much?
What is it with so many people? Do they all have the same death wish so they go to Iran to be picked up and executed? PEOPLE !!!!!!!! DO NOT GO TO IRAN. THEY WILL KILL YOU. Don't even hike close to the border. I really can't understand why and American would be so stupid as to go there knowing how much Iran hates America.
My wife and I (both Americans) were in Iran on holiday last month. We had no trouble at all and were warmly welcomed... had we accepted every offer of people trying to buy us a meal or inviting us to stay with them, we'd have stayed a month without paying for a meal or a hotel. Lovely people.
Of course, we had proper visas and had no political agenda. There are tons of great things to see in Iran - all the ancient sites of the Persian empire. It'd be nice to return as we didn't get to the Caspian or the north-west.
Glad you made it back alive.
Still, you are headless.
The Western media likes to vilify Iran (not entirely without reason, but it is overblown). I've been places far more dangerous than Iran and traveling in Iran seems very normal. There were lots of tourists form Asia (mostly Japan and Korea).
KEN: your comment is so freaking arrogant, condescending, and plain stupid...clearly you have never experienced separation from loved ones or your homeland for extended periods of time, or prayed blood, sweat and tears to see your dying aunt/grandmother/father one more time before they pass on, or watched from thousands of miles away as your fellow country men and women fought for their rights, risking arrest or worse...they know the risk when they return, so they don't need your snide, rude, and thoughtless comments!!!
dude, its a canadian not american read the article. okay
The Ayatollah gets his porn from the Elegant Angel website.
I have seen the billing data.
Man these guys have quite a collection too.
Oh, and Absolute Vodka is big on investing in Iran.
That and someone is buying up all the copies of Muhammad cartoons they can get their hands on over there.
Oh, and you might want to invest in Victoria's Secret.
They are selling the hell out of crotchless Burkas.
The people of Iran are truly wonderful folk. Honest, warm, and very careful not to offend "the religious police."
The government of Iran------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------leaves very much to be desired. They hire "the religious police.
I have a strange-gut feeling. That the govt. of Iran's days are numbered. I just have that feeling. Something is afoot.
A neo-con is a former liberal alright .... they are former Trotskites whose daddys ran Soviet Russia until the communist empire ran out of gas and then they all came to America and opened up shop as "neo-cons". Same thing that happened to Russia is going to happen to the US before they are through robbing us blind.
To everyone who talks smack about Iranians getting arrested when going back home visiting their country....have you ever been separated for years from loved ones? Have you ever been separated from those loved ones when they were terminally ill, on their deathbed, or just in their old age? Have you? Have you ever longed to be among your people, to hear your native tongue, to see old friends? Do you know what it is like to be thousands of miles from your country, your people, your family, for extended periods of time, not knowing when you may see them again? To hear of your country on the news, day in and day out, wondering if war will befall them again, to see your fellow country men and women battered by police and military?? NO? Didn't think so. How nice for you to have the luxury to speak from your vantage point, unfamiliar with the terrible longing and loneliness of missing your parents, your siblings, your homeland....obviously the risk is worth it to them. So please reconsider your snide, ignorant, sheltered comments. That is all.
You don't make any sense. What are you in favor of and opposed to. If you have qualms with your country of Iran, then do so and state so, but don't blame americans for supposed ignorance, intolerance, or dislikes for Iran and the way they live. We understand that some Iranians and other foreigners have seeked refuge from their dictator countries here in the US, but instead of blasting americans for not understanding or condemning the countries for their brutal ways, you should be thankful that this country has embraced you and ALLOWED you to come here so that you do not have to live in the brutal thug regime such as Iran can be.
I don't care if people seek refuge in our country if they do it in the legal way, but don't scold the very people that have had empathy for you and allowed you to come to this country so that you could leave the barbaric conditions in yours. WE would NOT be allowed the same in your country... we would instead be charged as being spys or some other type of charge so that the country of Iran could either extort money from the US or to gain international attention.
Don't come to my country and trash our government, people, and system that allows you the freedom to speak freely, while seeking asylum from the very own country that would not think twice in cutting your head off for just being YOU.
Howdy, "Houston".....WOW, your hubris and presumption are mind numbing!! It's astounding that you would assume that the United States is not my country of birth and my home. Why is it, when I ask that readers to empathize with the plight of Iranians returning to their homeland, it's assumed I am not American!?? How arrogant is that???? A person cannot be American and feel compassion for others???? And, the fact that you cannot comprehend my positionality also suggests your ignorance.
So, here's some more questions for you, Houston:
-Where in my above statement did I trash the United States government and policies??
-I exuded nothing BUT empathy for others in my above statement, whereas you did not; if empathy is the epitome of the true American, am I not more American than you?
-Where in my above statement did I state I am an asylum seeker? Assumption much, Houston??
The USA is MY COUNTRY. I was born here and grew up here. I embody the true American, one who extends humanitarianism, empathy, compassion, and kindness, whereas you embody arrogance, disdain, and good ol' hubris. I think i'll take my brand of American spirit over yours.
getaclue, get a clue!
your hubris and presumption are mind numbing! the people saying don't go to iran are simply saying that logic should trump the obvious emotions of those considering returning to iran...or for that matter, the desires of tourists to visit iran. if you can't see the lack of logic of visiting such a place with the current despotic regime in place you need to get educated. houstonite was only making assumptions similar to your own ridiculous statements. yes, this comment is late, but the issue is still poignant. more important though is that you seem to enjoy coming onto sites like this to berate those who disagree with you under the guise of moral and intellectual superiority. in reality, you demonstrate the opposite.
Iran has already made an enemy of the USA so why would it also want to make an enemy out of yet another western democracy?
...because the Canadian public isn't excited about an invasion of yet another Islamic country.
Think about it.
The Canadian public wasn't too excited about the invasion of Iraq nor would they be excited about an invasion of Iran; question is, why wouldn't they just deport the guy and that's the end of it instead of making yet another enemy? We wouldn't execute an Iranian.
If a Canadian is stupid enough to goto Iran and make a porn site, then he deserves his fate. making something in another country is bad. you dont observe the laws you suffer the consequences.
who cares he is canadian, let the canadian handle it. we should stick our US nose in this one.
He made his bed, now let him sleep in it
I think I read that they used his program/application in setting up the website. I don't think he actually set it up himself.
Sloppyjoes; do you think the convicted guy actually made a porn sight in Iran or is it possible they trumped up the charges? Don't forget, the Canadians helped get our embassy guys out of Iran way back in '79.
sloppy,
First, the Canadian is iranian by birth, but because Iran does not recognize dual or allow the revocation of Iranian citizenship, Iran considers him an iranian and will not allow him consular access. He 'lives' and is a Canadian citizen.
Second, what happened is that he wrote a piece of software, sold it, and it ended up being used by a porn site. He did this while he was living in Canada, not while he was living in the US. When he went back to Iran to visit a relative (I believe his grandmother), he was arrested at that point. Not even sure what the motivation of the arrest was however.
Using this law, if Bill gates were to ever travel to Iran, he should also be put to death because word was used to facilitate the business of porn sites.
Iran has had a bunch of these spats with Canadian ex-pats, probably ever since the 79 embassy incident that waterslide mentioned, but it has ramped up in recent years.
As to the embassy incident, not sure how the Canadian government didn't realize that one of its ambassadors was actually a CIA spy who couldn't wait to become a US citizen once the event was completed. Not saying that it wasn't a good thing to happen, but the more I learn about it (as a canadian citizen, though not living in canada), the more I wonder about US involvement in world affairs.
As for the US Nose in it, nobody is asking the US to be involved, it is in the 'world news' section for a reason, and just so you know, if it can happen to a Canadian, it can also happen to an american.
And remember that the US is not against the Iranian people. It is against the Iranian government or facsimile of it, meaning the Ayatollah A-hole, Ahmadina-jihad, and other ancient clerics that run the country.
You know, the equivalent of the Tea Party that wants to take control of this country and take it back to the 18th century. Except that we still have some control in voting out the Tea Party.
The Current regime in Iran is a direct result of a failed American policy towards Iran...The US/CIA took out their democratically elected president and replaced him with a brutal dictator.....
Is common sense EVEN required to know to stay the phuck out of iran!!!!!!!!!???????????????? no matter what...???!!!!!!
Ladies and gentlemen, behold: a stunning preview of Rick Santorum's America.
My wife and I took our kids to Iran last July and traveled all over and had no problem. People love Americans. here are some tips to be safe, do not kill their professors and scientists, do not bomb their military sites, do not start a porn business, do not go there on behalf of Mossad and pose as CIA, and you will have a great time.
only the guy didn't start a porn business.
Jion-398019: Totally agree. My wife and I took a holiday in Iran last month and had a splendid time. Everywhere we went they were thrilled to meet Americans. We were treated far better than most Iranians would be visiting America.