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Tehran: The lawyer for an Iranian novelist says his client has been sentenced to five years in prison for supporting anti-government demonstrations.
Yousuf Azizi is a member of Iran's ethnic Arab minority and has written novels as well as non-fiction books.
His lawyer, Saleh Nikbakht, says an Iranian court found Azizi guilty yesterday of "supporting unrest" during two days of protests in 2005.
The rallies took place in oil-rich Khuzestan province, where most of Iran's minority Arabs live.
Azizi remains free on bail, pending an appeal.
Arabs make up about 3 per cent of Iran's 70 million people.
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