Carl Mosk's Economics Site

By Grania

Although it has been not been reported very widely in the Western press, on March 12th Iran sentenced Iranian-American Karam Vafadari and Afarin Nayssari to death.

They were originally arrested on charges of serving alcohol in their home and hosting mixed-gender parties. Vafadari is Zoroastrian and thus is technically not bound to these Islamic laws. Minority religions in Iran are protected in their Constitution.

Kateh Vafadari, the sister who lives in the USA claims that the case is really about “extortion, property seizure and national security threats“. Former Italian ambassador to Iran, Roberto Toscano, agrees:

“The reason must be a different one…political blackmail toward the US (of which they are also citizens), envy for their success, intimidation toward the Zoroastrian community, desire to grab their properties, [and] repression of contemporary art (the reported destruction of works of art at their home would point in this direction).”

Earlier this…