TEHRAN - A top Iranian reformist jailed after publishing an opinion poll stating most people wished to see dialogue resume with the United States has been freed after Iran's Supreme Court ruled he was not guilty of spying, his lawyer told AFP Friday.
Abbas Abdi, a prominent member of the Islamic Iran Participation Front (IIPF) -- the main pro-reform party -- was in 2003 sentenced to four and half years behind bar on charges including "providing information to the enemies of the Islamic regime."
"The Supreme Court, in an unprecedented decision, declared that Iran and the United States were not in a state of hostilities and the differences between Iran and the United States were political differences," said Abdi's lawyer, Saleh Nikbakht.
"Abbas Abdi has been cleared and freed after 30 months in prison," he added.
He said the court had ruled that the charges of "cooperating with an enemy goverment were not fair" and that "the sale of information from an opinion poll... is not covered by laws of the Islamic republic."
05/13/2005 11:13 GMT