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An Iranian flag flutters in front of the UN headquarters in Vienna. Reuters

Iranian blogger, Soheil Arabi, has been sentenced to death after being found guilty of insulting Prophet Mohammad on Facebook.

Undisclosed sources told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, that Arabi, 30, had eight active Facebook accounts, which he had used to post the derogatory material on Prophet Mohammad.

Judge Khorasani announced the verdict in branch 75 of Tehran's Criminal Court on 30 August.

Article 262 of the Islamic Penal Code states that if a person insults the Prophet of Islam, his punishment is death. But in Article 264, it explicitly says that if a suspect merely claims in court that he said the insulting words in anger, in quoting someone, or by mistake, his death sentence will be converted to 74 lashes.
- Undisclosed source, International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran

An undisclosed source is quoted by the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran as saying:

"Article 262 of the Islamic Penal Code states that if a person insults the Prophet of Islam, his punishment is death. But in Article 264, it explicitly says that if a suspect merely claims in court that he said the insulting words in anger, in quoting someone, or by mistake, his death sentence will be converted to 74 lashes. I would like to emphasize that if only the suspect claims this, he will not be eligible for death, and there is no need to even prove his claim."

According to the undisclosed source, the judges issued the death sentence without paying any heed to Arabi's statements in the court where he insisted that he had posted the comments online under poor [psychological] conditions and is remorseful.

Arabi and his wife were arrested in November 2013 by the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution, also known as the Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).

Founded after the Iranian revolution on 5 May 1979, the Revolutionary Guards is a branch of Iran's military, that was formed to guard the country's Islamic system.

While Arabi's wife was released after a few hours of detainment, he "was kept in solitary confinement for two months inside IRGC's Ward 2-A at Evin Prison, before he was transferred to Evin's General Ward 350.remained in solitary confinement for two months," confirmed the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.

"The way he was arrested was illegal. It is not clear how the agents were able to enter their home at that time in the morning. All the doors were locked and family members were asleep. Agents entered his home and bedroom. He and his wife were arrested and some of their photographs and personal belongings were taken after their home was searched," said the undisclosed source.

Arabi has until 20 September to appeal against the guilty verdict.

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