Tehran, Nov 26, IRNA -- Iran's Chief Prosecutor Ayatollah Abdonnabi Namazi said here Tuesday that if the death convict academic Hashemi Aghajari does not appeal his sentence after the 20-day statuary period is over, his court verdict will be final.

Namazi, speaking on the sidelines of a conference entitled 'Basij and Security', said Aghajari's case will be sent to Tehran if he does not appeal the sentence.

Academic Hashem Aghajari was sentenced to death by a court in the western Iranian city of Hamedan on November 6 for allegedly insulting Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him).

The death sentence drew sharp angry criticism in Iran, with students staging several days of rally to call on the Judiciary to suspend the ruling.

Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei accordingly ordered the Judiciary to review the case.

Asked what measures the Judiciary has taken after the order by the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to review Aghajari's case, Namazi said Aghajari is obliged to appeal.

Meanwhile, the Public Prosecutor's office in a statement later Tuesday stressed that Ayatollah Namazi in his remarks today had observed that the Leader in his directive to the Judiciary had stated that 'a more careful study should be carried out into the appeal of the case with respect to due regulations."

Namazi, the statement added, had remarked that under the regulations as specified in Article 236 of the Law on Judicial Proceedings of Public Courts and Revolutionary Tribunals, the convict can appeal the court ruling within 20 days of statuary period.

Aghajari's lawyer Saleh Nikbakht on Tuesday rejected today's remarks by chief prosecutor as unconstitutional stressing however that he would try to persuade his client to appeal.

Aghajari can appeal the death sentence until December 3, 2002. But, he has not yet appealed the verdict.

Namazi's comments follow the remarks by Judiciary Spokesman Mir-Mohammad Sadeqi Monday that the Judiciary would review Aghajari's case after the Leader's directive, stressing that his case will be referred to the Supreme Court.

Four OFU detained activists are released

Tehran, Nov 27, IRNA -- Four activists of the Office to Foster Unity (OFU) detained here on Tuesday, were released on Wednesday morning.

A reliable source told IRNA, the activists Sa'id Razavi Faqih, Abdollah Momeni, Akbar Atri and Amir-Hossein Balali, four OFU activists who were arrested on Tuesday around noon, are released.

The arrest was authorized by Bench 26 of the Revolutionary Court which issued a ruling to the effect.

"The arrested OFU activists were accused of insulting the president, blasphemy and taking measures against national security," added the source.

According to the source, which is closely related to the released individuals, the four OFU activists are expected to attend Bench 26 of the Revolutionary Court on Saturday morning.

Besides, Tehran Deputy Governor General for political and security affairs Ebrahim Reza'ie Babadi criticized the judiciary here on Tuesday night for its hasty decision to arrest four activists of the Office to Foster Unity.

Aghajari's lawyer calls prosecutor's remarks 'unconstitutional'

Nikbakht said if the prosecutor refers to Article 235 of the Law on Judicial Proceedings as well as the Law on the Authority of the Judiciary Head, he will notice that his remarks were 'illegal'.

"Under this article, if a superior judicial authority notifies the judge investigating Aghajari's case of his court ruling, and he ignores it, the case will be definitely sent to the Supreme Court," he said.

Iran's Chief Prosecutor Ayatollah Abdonnabi Namazi said here Tuesday that if the death convict academic Hashemi Aghajari does not appeal his sentence within the 20-day statuary period, his court verdict will be final.

Namazi had further stressed that Aghajari's case will be referred to Tehran if he does not appeal the sentence.

Nikbakht, however, stressed that if it is proved that the judge investigating Aghajari's case has made a mistake in issuing the death sentence, the case will be referred to the Supreme Court for a review.

He said the judicial authorities that can notify the judge of his mistake include the judiciary head, the chief prosecutor, the head of the supreme court, as well as the head of Hamedan justice department, or any other judge.

"If the judicial authorities, as opposed to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, notice no violation in Aghajari's sentence to die, then the academic's reasons for refusing to appeal will be easily justifiable," he said.

Aghajari, the lawyer added, had earlier said the reason he refused to appeal was that if the sentence is really constitutional and complies with the Islamic Sharia, it must be executed; otherwise, the judiciary officials, themselves, must move to solve the issue.

Academic Hashem Aghajari was sentenced to death by a court in the western Iranian city of Hamedan on November 6 for allegedly insulting Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him).

The death sentence drew sharp and angry criticism in Iran, with students staging several days of rally to call on the Judiciary to suspend the ruling.

Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei accordingly ordered the Judiciary to review the case.

"The Judiciary's effort to link any further step to review Aghajari's case to his appealing the sentence will be against the remarks by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as the contents of this article," Nikbakht warned.

Aghajari can appeal the death sentence until December 3, 2002. But, he has not appealed the verdict so far.

His lawyer, however, said he would try to persuade his client to appeal.