A photo of Saeed Malekpoor
A photo of Saeed Malekpoor http://www.facebook.com/media/

An Iranian web programmer found guilty of developing and promoting porn web sites has had his death sentenced confirmed.

Iran's Supreme Court upheld the death sentence of Saeed Malekpoor.

The 35-year-old, who developed software used by porn sites, was convicted of "insulting and desecrating Islam."

The software he developed enabled the uploading of pictures online, but according to a report by Amnesty International, a porn site used his work without his knowledge.

Malekpoor who was a permanent resident of Canada, was arrested during a visit to his homeland in October 2008.

According to The Guardian, after spending more than a year in solitary confinement in Tehran's Evin Prison without access to a lawyer, her confessed on state television that he was connected to a porn site.

While being placed on solitary confinement, he was also allegedly tortured.

In 2010, a Revolutionary court sentenced Malekpour to death and after reviewing the case, and this week, the Supreme Court upheld the sentence.

However the programmer has since then rescinded his confessions, in a letter he sent from prison.

He says he suffered both physical and psychological torture but was told by the authorities he would be released if he confessed.

"They asked me to falsely confess to purchasing software from the UK and then posting it on my website for sale," Malekpour wrote in the 2010 letter.

"I was forced to add that when somebody visited my website, the software would be, without his/her knowledge, installed on their computer and would take control of their webcam, even when their webcam is turned off. Although I told them that what they were suggesting was impossible from a technological point of view, they responded that I should not concern myself with such things."

Melpour's death sentence comes at a time where the Islamic republic has stepped up internet restrictions, prompting speculations that a national intranet replacement would enable officials to keep an even tighter grip on web users, is set to be launched soon.

Supreme Court