'Blasphemous' play trial starts



By BBC Middle East correspondent Jim Muir

The trial has opened in Iran of four students and a teacher accused of insulting Islam with a play they performed.

If found guilty of heresy, they could face the death sentence.

The case is being seen as another test of the relative political strengths of the traditionalists and reformers in Iranian society, and has generated wide public interest.

Ayatollah Khamenei intervened

The courtroom in central Tehran was packed, reflecting the huge public interest this case has aroused.

On trial before a judge and a panel of high-ranking clerical advisors was the student who wrote the play and three others connected with its publication.

Also in the dock was a teacher in whose class the play had been read out. He is accused of failing to suppress it.

The prosecution says the play has created an atmosphere of licence.

They say the play insulted Shia Islam by making fun of one of its most revered figures - the 12th or missing Imam.

'Misinterpretation'

Pious Muslims await his return to preside over a just new order on Earth.

The author of the play, Ali Abbas Nemati, constantly fought back tears as he tried to answer the charges.

He argued that his intentions had been misinterpreted.

He said he was full of reverence for the Imam and had only tried to suggest that the people were not ready for his return.

Another of the accused broke down and collapsed in the dock.

Calls for death sentence

Some hardline clerics had called for those responsible for the play to be put to death as heretics.

Even moderates within the regime who normally champion cultural freedom, distanced themselves from the case.

They were themselves being accused by the hardliners of fostering a climate in which such abuses could flourish.

Earlier this month, the supreme leader, Ayatollah Sayeed Ali Khamenei, intervened to try to prevent the issue from aggravating factional tensions. He argued that the case should not be blown out of proportion.

Many of those in the courtroom apparently believed that it had.