An Iranian appeals court has confirmed the death sentence against a student activist detained during anti-government protests late last year, opposition websites reported on Wednesday.

Mohammad-Amin Valian, who backed pro-reform candidate Mirhossein Mousavi in June's disputed election, was charged with "moharebeh" (waging war against God), acting against state security and insulting top officials, they said.
 

The 20 year old, who rejected the accusations, was a university student in the city of Damghan east of Tehran and a member of Mousavi' local election office ahead of the presidential vote, the Kaleme and Norooz websites added.
 

He was detained during protests on Ashura, the ritual Shi'ite day of mourning that fell on 27 December, when eight people died in clashes between demonstrators and security forces. It was the most violent unrest since the aftermath of the vote.
 

It was not immediately clear whether Valian was among a group of 11 people who Iranian media in January said had been sentenced to death in connection with election unrest.
 

Two of those put on trial after the election were executed in January while the cases of the other nine were at the appeals stage, the Iranian media reports at the time said.

Accusations
The two were accused of being part of an anti-revolutionary group that had planned to plant bombs and assassinate officials to create tension in Iran on election day and afterwards.
 

The hangings were condemned by human rights groups and the West, which Iran accuses of backing the opposition.
 

Some hardliners, including an influential cleric, have urged the judiciary to execute more opposition supporters to end the demonstrations which have continued on-and-off since the vote despite a government crackdown and a wave of arrests.

Elections rigged
Iran's pro-reform opposition says the June poll was rigged to secure the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
 

The authorities denied the accusation of vote rigging and portrayed the huge opposition protests that erupted after the vote as a foreign-backed bid to undermine the Islamic state.
 

Thousands of opposition supporters were detained after the election. Most of them have since been freed but more than 80 people have been jailed for up to 15 years, including several senior reformist figures.
 

Source: Reuters