The son of former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has reportedly been jailed by an Iranian court after being convicted of security offences and financial crimes.
Mehdi Hashemi Rafsanjani was accused of provoking unrest in the aftermath of the disputed 2009 elections and was taken into custody on his return from exile in the United Kingdom in 2012, reported the BBC.
Unofficial sources said that the Tehran court sentenced Mehdi Hashemi to 15 years in prison. However, the claim has not been confirmed.
A judicial official said that he had 20 days to appeal against the ruling. The sentence is also said to include an undisclosed amount of fine and a ban from holding public office.
Mehdi Hashemi went on trial at Iran's Revolutionary Court, which hears cases involving security offences, in August last year. His trial was held behind closed doors so the exact charges are not known.
Former President Rafsanjani's family came under scrutiny during the 2009 elections after he declared his support for Mir Hossein Mousavi, the reformist who failed in challenging President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
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Critics dubbed Mehdi Hashemi's sentence as an attempt by hardliners to hurt his father's reputation ahead of parliamentary elections next February.
Rafsanjani, who was one of the founders of the Islamic Republic, served as the president of Iran from 1989 to 1997.