Tehran, 15 Jan. (AKI) – Iran is preparing to try 16 people who were arrested during anti-government protests that turned violent last month, an Iranian news agency said on Friday. The semi-official Fars News Agency did not identify the detainees who are facing trial, but said one was accused of “moharebeh” – an Islamic term meaning waging war against God – that carried the death sentence.
Medvedev Offers No New Solutions to Dagestan’s Ongoing Destabilization
On January 12, a major gas pipeline was blown up with an explosive device in southern Dagestan. The pipeline stretching from Mozdok in North Ossetia to Kazimagomed in Dagestan connects Russian gas pipelines to the Azeri gas pipeline network. Eleven settlements, including the city of Derbent in the southern part of the republic with the overall population of 170,000 people, were left without gas supplies (ITAR-TASS, January 12).