Iranian President’s brother sentenced to 5 years jail

An Iranian court sentenced the brother of President Hassan Rouhani to five years in prison.

According to the state news channel Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s brother and four people were sentenced in another case on charges of spying for the United States and Britain, with one person facing the death penalty.

Fereydoun is known to be a trusted adviser of Mr Rouhani and was involved in the talks that led to the 2015 deal regarding Iran’s nuclear programme

In May, Hossein Fereydoun was sentenced to an unspecified jail term in a corruption case that the president’s supporters allege was politically motivated.

The penalties added to the perception that Mr. Rouhani is under increasing pressure in Iran, where he won elections in 2013 and 2017 partly on promises to curb corruption and end the country’s prolonged economic isolation.

Instead, corruption has flourished, the landmark 2015 nuclear agreement promoted by Mr. Rouhani is near collapse, and Iran’s economy has been seriously hurt by President Trump’s restoration of sanctions.

Judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said Freydoun was jailed for five years but he may face further charges in another case.

“Regarding the case of Hossein Fereydoun, the sentence of seven years handed down by the court of first instance has been reduced to five years,” he added.

The spokesperson further said the sentence was final as there was no further avenue of appeal.

Iranian President’s brother, Hossein Fereydoun, was arrested in 2017 in connection with long-running accusations of corruption, and the Iranian judiciary said at the time that he was the subject of “multiple investigations.”