Iran Won't Execute Web Programmer

Saeed Malekpour has been held in Iran since 2008 because a program he developed to upload photos was used by adult websites.

A web developer from Richmond Hill, Ont., who's been in Iranian custody for nearly three years won't be executed for working on pornography websites. Saeed Malekpour was arrested in 2008 on pornography charges, a crime that the Iranian government has deemed to be an affront to Islam and an offence punishable by death. Malekpour was visiting his father at the time, and has maintained he didn't know that programs he developed for the web would be used by pornographic sites. Few details have emerged over why Malekpour's sentence was overturned. Because Malekpour is not a Canadian citizen – he moved to Ontario in 2004 – the federal government could not intervene on his behalf.