Six of eight Iranian wildlife conservationists charged with spying for foreign countries have been sentenced to between four and 10 years by a closed door revolutionary court, local media reported Wednesday.

The group from the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation was arrested in January 2018, drawing international condemnation from conservation groups and scientists.

The managing director of the foundation, dual-Canadian national Kavous Seyed-Emami, was also arrested at the time but the judiciary said he died by suicide in prison. His family has called for an independent investigation.

Niloufar Bayani and Morad Tahbaz were sentenced to 10 years in prison. Taher Ghadirian and Hooman Jokar received eight years, and Amirhossein Khaleghi and Sepideh Kashani each got six years, according to reports.

The verdicts of Sam Rajabi and Alireza Kohpayeh, two other defendants in the case, will be communicated to lawyers next week.

Tahbaz is an Iranian-US dual citizen.

Iran: paralyzed by environmental neglect Dust cloud with toxic particles In Ahwaz, the instruments that monitor pollution from particulates were out of action for days. "Within hours, there was dust everywhere. Suddenly, I had red spots on my whole body. My skin felt like it was on fire and I was hospitalized," Rosita told DW. She is a teacher in Khuzestan, the capital of a province rich in oil.

Iran: paralyzed by environmental neglect Burnt-out neighbor Sandstorms have become a nightmare for people in southern Iran. For eight years the storms have constantly increased in intensity, and spread toxic particles. Iranian politicians claim they come from neighboring country Iraq. There, 35 years of constant war have left date palm forests burnt, agriculture ruined, and the air full of chemicals.

Iran: paralyzed by environmental neglect Poor water management Iranian politicians like to call their country an "island of stability" in the Middle East, but especially when it comes to environmental issues, things do not look good. Climate change and poor water management have led to 80 percent of the country's most important lakes drying up. These areas are the most significant contributors to dust pollution. The Karun river in Ahwaz is also drying up.

Iran: paralyzed by environmental neglect Becoming uninhabitable In spite of all this, Iran has no strategy to protect the environment. In January, the German "Heinrich Böll Foundation" published a report on water shortages in Iran. 160 pages are dedicated to describing the country's massive environmental problems. "The pressing water shortage is threatening to make vast areas of land uninhabitable in the future," the report warns.

Iran: paralyzed by environmental neglect Power cuts disrupt the oil- industry The sandstorm in Khuzestan caused massive disturbances in the electric power supply. The consequences were immense. The oil-industry in Khuzestan was temporarily at a standstill. 750,000 barrels of crude oil are produced in this province every day. The oil industry's revenues make up a large part of the Iranian national budget. A representative from Khuzestan warned of a national crisis.

Iran: paralyzed by environmental neglect Rohani under pressure Conservative politicians accuse Hassan Rohani's government of not having the situation under control. In turn, Rohani blames his predecessor Mahmud Ahmadinejad for the impending environmental catastrophe. During his presidency, Ahmadinejad accused the West of having caused the drought in Iran - as part of a "sinister plan to undermine the Islamic Republic."

Iran: paralyzed by environmental neglect Powerless environmental protection agency The revolutionary guard is not only a military power with its own contingent of army, airforce, navy, special forces for foreign missons or the voluntary militia Basidsch. They are also an economic force in Iran. Their economic division Khatam al-Anbiya builds streets, tunnels, pipelines and dams. Many dams are built only of earth - without consulting the environmental authorities.

Iran: paralyzed by environmental neglect Dam collapse? Fake News! In February, a dirt dam collapsed in the southern Iranian province of Fars. 700 houses were destroyed and more than 2,000 other buildings damaged. At first, the provincial director-general for crisis management disclaimed reports about the incident. The pictures on social media were claimed to be fakes.

Iran: paralyzed by environmental neglect Official lack of responsibility Nobody accepts responsibility for this mismanagement, or for the delay in carrying out rescue missions in the province. A lack of crisis management turns into a management crisis. Author: Shabnam von Hein (JF)



The group was originally arrested by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' intelligence wing for allegedly using the wildlife organization as a cover for military espionage.

The wildlife experts had been using cameras to monitor endangered species, including the Asiatic cheetah and Persian leopard. Use of cameras to track endangered species is a common tool.

Charges against four of them for "corruption on Earth" — a charge that carries the death penalty — were dropped last month.

According the human rights group Amnesty International, there is evidence the conservationists were subject to torture and other ill-treatment to extract confessions.

cw/stb (Reuters)

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