Iran jails senior reformer for five years

ISNA also said one of those arrested during anti-government demonstrations on Dec. 27 was sentenced to death. Eight others were sentenced to prison terms.

Behzad Nabavi was among senior reformist figures arrested after the disputed June presidential election that plunged Iran into turmoil.

The opposition says the June poll was rigged to secure hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election. The authorities have rejected the charge and portrayed post-election protests as Western-backed.

Among the issued verdicts, is a confirmation of a five-year prison sentence for Behzad Nabavi, ISNA reported.

One person has also been sentenced to death and eight others were sentenced to jail, the report said.

Opposition websites have urged people to take to the streets again on Feb. 11, when Iran marks the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution. Police have warned they will not tolerate any more anti-government protests.

Several other leading opposition supporters have already received jail terms on charges including acting against national security.

An Iranian court on Monday sentenced reformist former deputy foreign minister Mohsen Aminzadeh to six years in jail.

ISNA said Alireza Beheshti, an adviser to Iranian opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi, was released on bail from prison on Tuesday.Thousands of people protesting against the conduct of the June vote were arrested. Most of them have since been freed, though more than 80 people have been jailed for of up to 15 years.

Last month, Iran hanged two people sentenced to death in post-vote trials. The West and human rights groups condemned the executions, accusing Iran of staging show trials and of seeking to intimidate the opposition.

(Editing by Charles Dick)